Senior Scientist

London, N4
️ 4 days in our office, 1 day from home (choose from Tue–Thu)
£55 - 65k 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

• Holds an engineering degree with a focus on materials, polymers 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.

• 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 Chemistry, 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 chemistry fundamentals, with the ability to connect microstructure to macro-material properties.

• You thrive in a high-autonomy, fast-moving start-up environment - spotting opportunities, building structure from scratch, and moving projects forward without waiting for instruction.

• 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 solving.

What we offer

28 days holiday + statutory holidays
Enhanced parental leave - 12 weeks maternity at full pay, 6 weeks paternity at full pay
Heka wellbeing allowance - to spend on what matters to you - gym, therapy, nutrition, learning, fertility and menopause support, and lots of other options!
Virtual GP - same or next day appointments and private prescriptions delivered to you
Cycle to work scheme - buy, subscribe to, or share a bike with savings of up to 42% via salary sacrifice
Competitive salary + equity options
Growth and development opportunities as we scale
Regular socials + daily catered lunch at the office
A tightly knit, passionate team making a real impact

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.

This role involves travel and requires manual handling of goods up to 25kg in weight.