Paper & Coating Engineer

The Role

At Notpla we're at the leading edge of sustainable innovation, creating natural alternatives to single-use plastic packaging that's carefully engineered to create a healthier planet. Founded on the belief that nature knows best, we're an innovative, ideas and action-oriented scale-up who develop and manufacture uncompromisingly natural packaging solutions from seaweed and plants.

As a Paper & Coating Engineer, you'll be joining an innovative, fast moving and agile Formulation & Process team that pride themselves on their pivotal research and development.

This is an exciting time to join Notpla, right on the brink of a record-breaking year for revenue and on-track for major growth in the next 18-24 months. Bolstering confidence in our financial performance, we have just secured a Series A+ fundraise for £20million, enabling us to scale our growth and environmental impact faster than ever.

Led by strong values, all Notpla employees are encouraged to take responsibility for their domain, giving a high level of autonomy. Our aim is to build an inspiring culture that's reflected in our working policies, environment and employees.

Besides offering exciting roles and a great working environment, Notpla provides competitive salaries, the potential for EMI Share Options, a zero-carbon pension scheme, discounts with local businesses, and subsidised social activities. Our office first hybrid working policy allows you to work in the manner that maximises your productivity, while still creating a vibrant and collegiate work environment. We are a social business with regular clubs and events, and we are proud of how our diverse workplace has created a community that is all pushing towards the common goal of making plastic disappear.

We are seeking a highly skilled and proactive Paper & Coating Engineer with industry experience in paper and coatings to join our growing R&D team. This role is critical in developing and optimising seaweed-based formulations, ensuring they meet performance requirements and can be successfully scaled up for commercial use. The Paper & Coating Engineer will work closely with a formulation scientist and a process engineer, collaborating on research, formulation, and process improvements. This is an exciting opportunity to drive impactful R&D work for commercial projects.

Key Responsibilities Formulation Development & Optimisation

• Design and optimise seaweed-based coatings and paper formulations, balancing key properties such as adhesion, flexibility, barrier performance, and biodegradability.

• Conduct rheology studies and material characterisation to fine-tune formulations for specific applications.

• Identify and integrate novel raw materials to enhance performance and sustainability.

• Work on material compatibility studies, ensuring formulations meet required industrial and regulatory standards.

• Develop prototype samples and conduct performance testing under real-world conditions.

Analytical Chemistry & Material Characterisation

• Develop and validate analytical test methods to ensure consistency and reproducibility in formulation performance.

• Assess film-forming properties, barrier properties, and mechanical performance of coatings and substrates.

• Interpret data and provide insights to refine formulations based on performance outcomes.

Scale-Up & Trials

• Work closely with the process engineer to transition lab-scale formulations into pilot-scale and commercial-scale production.

• Participate in pilot trials and factory production runs, ensuring formulations perform as expected in real-world conditions.

• Troubleshoot formulation issues that arise during scale-up, working collaboratively with cross-functional teams.

• Document all scale-up findings, optimising processes for efficiency and reproducibility.

Project Management

• Drive formulation work streams from concept to execution, ensuring key milestones are met on time.

• Develop and maintain project timelines, coordinating with internal teams and external partners to ensure smooth execution.

• Communicate project progress effectively with internal stakeholders, providing clear updates and risk assessments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with the entire technical team, ensuring formulation strategies align with process capabilities.

• Translate complex scientific findings into clear, actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders.

Quality Assurance & Documentation

• Ensure formulations meet regulatory and industrial standards, documenting all formulation parameters and testing results.

• Maintain detailed formulation records, creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure reproducibility.

• Work with quality teams to implement quality control measures in formulation testing and production.

External Partnership Building

• Identify and engage with external partners, such as material suppliers, labs, specialised contract manufacturers, and technology consultants, to fast-track scale-up activities.

• Coordinate and oversee development activities with partners to ensure project alignment and adherence to company standards.

Your profile Qualifications & Experience Education & Industry Background

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Polymer Science, Materials Science, Engineering, or a related discipline.

• 5+ years of industry experience in coatings, paper-based materials, or polymer formulation.

• Strong background in analytical chemistry and material characterization techniques.

Technical Skills

• Expertise in natural polymer coatings, surface treatments, and film-forming properties.

• Hands-on experience with natural polymer formulations (e.g., starches, proteins, cellulose, alginates).

• Knowledge of barrier coatings, adhesion technologies, and functional additives.

• Deep knowledge in coating processes and paper production.

Partnership & Communication Skills

• Ability to identify, establish, and manage external partnerships to accelerate scale-up activities and overcome resource constraints.

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate effectively across internal teams and external stakeholders.

• Demonstrated capacity to represent the company in technical discussions with partners and stakeholders.

Apply for this job About us

Notpla is a family of regenerative packaging materials, made from seaweed and plants. Behind these products is a company of the same name, deeply committed to making the planet a healthier place. Winner of the prestigious Earthshot Prize, Notpla are famed for their innovative, scalable alternatives to plastic. These include the edible liquid bubbles - Ooho, their seaweed-coated food containers, single-use films and rigid materials. To date, their solutions have already replaced 16 million pieces of single-use plastic from entering our environment.

Notpla Limited takes inclusion and diversity seriously. It is important for us that we live by our values and our policies outline how - We work better together. Notpla is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination.