Location
Hackney Wick, London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£33,500 - £47,000 per year + EMI Share Options

About the Role
At Notpla, we’re at the forefront of sustainable innovation, creating natural alternatives to single-use plastic packaging engineered to help build a healthier planet. Founded on the belief that nature knows best, we are an innovative, action-oriented scale-up developing and manufacturing uncompromisingly natural packaging solutions from seaweed and plants.

As a Coating Process Engineer in the Innovation team, you will help turn breakthrough natural material technologies into scalable solutions. This role sits at the critical intersection of material science and industrial-scale coating processes, using your process engineering skills to develop and transform innovative biomaterial solutions in the early stages into commercially viable packaging alternatives that replace single-use plastics.

This is an exciting time to join Notpla — we are on the brink of a record-breaking year for revenue and on track for major growth in the next 18–24 months. With a recent £20 million Series A+ fundraise, we are scaling our growth and environmental impact faster than ever.

Beyond meaningful roles and a vibrant working environment, Notpla offers competitive compensation, including EMI Share Options, a zero-carbon pension scheme, discounts with local businesses, and subsidised social activities. Our office-first hybrid working policy lets you work in the way that maximises your productivity while maintaining a dynamic and collaborative atmosphere.

We are a social business with regular clubs and events, proud of our diverse, mission-driven community working together to make plastic disappear. Led by strong values, all employees are encouraged to take ownership of their domain, enjoying a high degree of autonomy. Our aim is to build an inspiring culture reflected in our working policies, environment, and people.

You will work hands-on in both the laboratory and on pilot facilities, designing and executing coating trials, troubleshooting process challenges, and building technical knowledge that advances Notpla's mission across multiple concurrent projects. Collaborating closely with material scientists, product designers, and business development managers, you will drive your own projects from concept through pilot-scale validation.

This role is for someone who sees process engineering as a creative discipline, where the challenge of making natural materials perform in existing industrial infrastructure is as exciting as the science itself. You will pioneer coating processes for materials without established playbooks, constantly learning, adapting, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible when nature meets engineering.

Experience
- Relevant degree in Process Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Packaging Engineering or related field with understanding of scale-up challenges
- Diverse experience with paper coating processes for packaging (extrusion coating, flexo, gravure, etc.)
- Proven track record of developing, improving and troubleshooting manufacturing processes and delivering technical breakthroughs
- Strong relationship management with manufacturing partners and cross-functional collaboration experience
- Comfortable working in ambiguity, agile methodologies, and fast-paced environments
- Experience managing trial logistics and willingness to travel frequently for partner collaborations, trials, and consortium meetings

About you
- Excellent communication skills with ability to convey complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
- Strong make-it-happen attitude with a proactive and solution-oriented mindset
- Collaborative team player who thrives working across disciplinary boundaries
- Passionate about sustainability and innovation in materials and packaging

Qualifications
- Degree in Process Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Packaging Engineering or related discipline
- Demonstrated knowledge of coating process principles including rheology, adhesion, film formation and drying
- Ability to design experiments, analyse data and document technical learnings clearly
- Experience contributing to patent applications and intellectual property development is desirable