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 that are carefully engineered to help build a healthier planet. Founded on the belief that nature knows best, Notpla is an innovative, action-oriented scale-up developing and manufacturing uncompromisingly natural packaging solutions from seaweed and plants. As an Extrusion Engineer in the Innovation team, you will develop breakthrough natural material technologies into scalable solutions. This role sits at the critical intersection of material science and industrial-scale extrusion processes, transforming innovative biomaterial solutions from early stages into commercially viable packaging alternatives that replace single-use plastics.

This is an exciting time to join Notpla as we approach a record-breaking year for revenue and anticipate major growth in the next 18–24 months. Supported by our Series A+ fundraise closed in 2024, we are scaling our growth and environmental impact faster than ever. Notpla offers a vibrant working environment, 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 supports productivity while maintaining a dynamic and collaborative atmosphere.

You will work closely with material scientists, product designers, consortium members, and business development managers, driving complex R&D projects from concept through to scale validation. A key focus will be on a novel extruded material within a large EU-funded project, bringing it from lab to market with a diverse team and strong partner consortium.

Your responsibilities will include designing and executing extrusion trials, troubleshooting process challenges, and building technical knowledge to advance Notpla’s mission within a large Horizon project and potentially across multiple concurrent projects.

Experience
Practical process engineering experience with exposure to extrusion processes such as compounding, film or sheet extrusion, extrusion coating, or related techniques. Proven ability to apply rigorous process engineering discipline in a fast-paced innovation environment.

About you
A curious and fluid mindset with a passion for pioneering uncharted territory in natural materials. Comfortable working hands-on in laboratory and pilot facilities, designing and executing trials, troubleshooting, and collaborating across multidisciplinary teams. Strong communication skills to clearly convey technical concepts to diverse audiences. Motivated by sustainability and innovation, with a commitment to Notpla’s mission to replace single-use plastics.

Qualifications
Relevant qualifications in engineering, material science, or a related field are desirable. Experience working on R&D projects, particularly within extrusion or biomaterials, is highly valued. Ability to contribute technical content to patent applications and intellectual property development is a plus.