Senior Polymer Scientist - Shellworks This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Shellworks and our selected partners use cookies and similar technologies (together “cookies”) that are necessary to present this website, and to ensure you get the best experience of it. If you consent to it, we will also use cookies for analytics purposes. See our Cookie Policy to read more about the cookies we set. You can withdraw and manage your consent at any time, by clicking “Manage cookies” at the bottom of each website page. Accept all cookies Decline all non-necessary cookies Cookie preferences Select which cookies you accept On this site, we always set cookies that are strictly necessary, meaning they are necessary for the site to function properly. If you consent to it, we will also set other types of cookies. You can provide or withdraw your consent to the different types of cookies using the toggles below. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time, by clicking the link “Manage Cookies”, which is always available at the bottom of the site. To learn more about what the different types of cookies do, how your data is used when they are set etc, see our Cookie Policy . Strictly necessary These cookies are necessary to make the site work properly, and are always set when you visit the site. Vendors Teamtailor Analytics These cookies collect information to help us understand how the site is being used. Vendors Teamtailor Accept these cookies Decline all non-necessary cookies Skip to main content common--header--menu#toggle" data-common--header--menu-target="button" > Career menu Jobs Employee Log in as employee Candidate Log in to Connect Share page Facebook X LinkedIn Mail Materials · Shellworks London Senior Polymer Scientist Help us build a world without plastic pollution by championing new product development at Shellworks. Join a fast-moving team making a real environmental impact. Apply for this job 📍 London, N4 🏛️ 4 days in our office, 1 day from home (choose from Tue–Thu) 💰 £50 - 60k per annum + equity About Shellworks At Shellworks, we’re on a mission to make plastic waste a thing of the past. We’re creating a new generation of materials - sustainable, high-performing, and designed to disappear. By reimagining how materials are made, we’re tackling one of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges. Key
Responsibilities Lead the end-to-end development of proprietary polymer blends and additive packages. You’ll be responsible for expanding our core material's scope, successfully hitting commercial performance targets. You will engineer formulations that remain robust and uncompromising during a product shelf-life but maintain rapidly biodegradable the moment they reach their end-of-life. Develop a predictive framework that correlates lab-based rheological and thermal data to real-world machine settings. Your goal is to eliminate trial-and-error by predicting how materials will behave before they hit the factory floor. Expand our internal testing suite to connect microstructure analysis (crystallinity, melt stability, etc) to macroscopic failure modes. You’ll deep-dive into analysis to understand exactly why materials succeed or fail in the field. Collaborate daily with our manufacturing and engineering teams. You’ll ensure your formulations are "manufacture-ready" stable, repeatable, and optimised for industrial-scale extrusion and molding. Act as the technical bridge between our design and commercial teams. You will translate customer
requirements into concrete chemical specifications, ensuring our materials meet the aesthetic and functional needs of the world's biggest brands. As a member of a dynamic team, you won’t just stay in your lane. You’ll jump in wherever needed from vetting new sustainable feedstock suppliers to identifying and researching new opportunity spaces. Our Ideal Candidate Holds a Masters / PhD in Polymer Science, Materials Science, or a related field, with at least 2 years of industry experience. Brings a solution focused, results-driven mindset and a strong willingness to learn, this is a hands-on role that requires curiosity and initiative. Deep command of polymer chemistry, with the ability to connect rheology, crystallinity, thermal behaviour, and melt stability to real processing outcomes. Comprehensive knowledge of polymer science, formulation and analysis - you know how to connect the microstructure of polymers to macroscopic enhancements. Independent decision maker, you feel confident operating in ambiguity while driving clarity and momentum. A do it yourself / can do mentality - not focussed on boundaries but interdisciplinary problem What we offer 🌴 21 days holiday + birthday off + 27–31st December (plus public holidays) 📚 Growth and development opportunities as we scale 👍 Competitive salary + equity options 🎉 Regular socials + daily catered lunch at the office 🐚 A tight-knit, mission-driven team working on something that matters Join Us Becoming a part of Shellworks means being part of a team that’s passionate about sustainability and innovation. Our world-class team includes experts in materials science and visionary entrepreneurs dedicated to creating a better future. Together, we’re redefining what’s possible. Department Materials Locations Shellworks London About Shellworks Shellworks aims to address one of the biggest challenges of our generation: plastic pollution. We raised a 6.2Mn Seed round by top-tier investors globally and shipped our first 100,000 units in 2022. We're now scaling our team to help us accelerate towards our mission. We’re a group of critical optimists from backgrounds like design, engineering, and science. We aren’t bound by existing rules and stereotypes and are fundamental believers that there must be a better way. As an early-stage startup, you’ll play a fundamental role in shaping Shellworks’ future. Apply for this job Materials · Shellworks London Senior Polymer Scientist Help us build a world without plastic pollution by championing new product development at Shellworks. Join a fast-moving team making a real environmental impact. Loading application form Career site Jobs Data & privacy Manage cookies Employee login Candidate Connect login Already working at Shellworks? Let’s recruit together and find your next colleague. @theshellworks.com Log in Applicant tracking system by Teamtailor
Location
London, GB
Experience
2+ years
Total raised
$22.1M
Last stage
Series A
Investors
No applications, no recruiter spam. Just the intro.
A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.
I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.
If they’re a yes, I book the chat. You show up — that’s the whole job-hunt.