Founder’s Associate – Commercial & Operations Lead (Requires Chemistry Background)

We’re hiring a Founder Associate who wants real ownership — ex-consultant, strategy or ops background, hyper-ambitious, and hungry to scale a deep-tech startup. You’ll work side-by-side with the CEO across commercial strategy, partnerships, COO-level operations and financial planning & projections. Chemistry background required. Bonus points if you worked with Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP) before or/and worked in the hygiene (diapers, menstrual pads, cosmetics) and agricultural industry (soil enhancements).

Company Description: A&B Smart Materials is an Oxford University–based materials science venture developing bio-based, biodegradable superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) to replace today’s fossil-based plastics. SAPs are the “magic-like” absorbent cores inside diapers, menstrual pads and incontinence products and in agriculture they act as “water-storage crystals” that help soil retain moisture. Today’s SAPs are persistent plastics that break down into microplastics, and growing regulatory pressure, consumer demand and the scale of the microplastics crisis make sustainable alternatives urgently needed.

Our goal is simple and ambitious: to replace the synthetic superabsorbents that dominate a $9B market today and will reach $17B by 2035, delivering biodegradable materials that achieve the trifecta of top performance, competitive pricing and large-scale manufacturability. We are backed by some of the most prestigious investors in the world. A&B Smart Materials has been recognised as a DeepTech Pioneer (Hello Tomorrow, 2025), Winner of the TBAT Innovation Challenge 2025, Second Runner-Up for the BBIA Demeter Award 2025, and recipient of a Henry Royce Institute grant. We are part of the Creative Destruction Lab (Paris Climate Stream) and the EarthScale Accelerator, working closely with major chemical, hygiene and agriculture companies. Our mission: make sustainable SAPs the global standard.

Role Description: We are seeking an exceptionally driven Founder Associate to work directly with Amaury (CEO) and take a central role in the commercial, operational and strategic development of A&B Smart Materials. This is a high-ownership, founder-level role combining commercial partnerships, COO-style operations management and cross-functional execution.

You will engage directly with global hygiene, chemical and agriculture companies, support the development of co-development agreements, industrial trials and potential pre-orders, and build the operational backbone that keeps the company executing at speed. This includes coordinating teams, tracking deliverables, structuring processes and helping turn strategy into real-world progress.

You will also support financial planning, including project budgeting, cost projections and cash-flow alignment, and you must be highly comfortable preparing clear, convincing slides, reports and partner materials, as well as presenting and driving discussions with senior stakeholders. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in high-velocity environments, takes full ownership, and has a strong desire to succeed, grow and make an impact. You should be energised by solving problems, building structure and helping shape a company aiming to redefine a global materials market.

• Lead commercial relationships with major hygiene, chemical and agriculture companies, including establishing and managing co-development agreements, industrial trials, pre-orders and other structured partnerships.
• Prepare clear, compelling outreach decks, reports and partner materials; confidently present and persuade senior stakeholders.
• Build and manage internal operations and project-management structures, coordinating deliverables, timelines and cross-functional workflows.
• Support financial planning, including project budgeting, cost projections and alignment with cash utilization plans.
• Work directly with the CEO on strategy, market analyses and partnership roadmaps.
• Prepare investor updates, board materials and stakeholder communications.
• Contribute to large grant applications by drafting content and coordinating partners.

• Degree in chemistry or chemical engineering.
• 2-3+ years of experience in consulting, startups, strategy, operations, finance or business development.
• Strong operations management capability (COO-style): able to structure processes, coordinate teams and keep workstreams moving.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, confident in producing clear stakeholder-facing materials and presenting to senior executives.
• Ability to support financial planning, including preparing project budgets, cost projections, technical formulation cost analyses, and contributing to cash-flow management.
• Strong organizational and project-management skills with a “get the work done” ownership mindset.
• Confident working with technical teams and comfortable learning complex concepts quickly.

• Worked with Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP) before or/and worked in the hygiene (diapers, menstrual pads, cosmetics) and agricultural industry (soil enhancements).
• Experience working in early-stage startups or deep-tech commercialization.
• Familiarity with materials, chemicals, hygiene, agriculture industries.
• Ability to speak additional languages (e.g. German, Mandarin, Japanese) to strengthen engagement with international partners.

• Proactive, with a strong sense of initiative and momentum.
• Hungry to succeed, ambitious and eager to take on responsibility.
• A genuine “roll your sleeves up” mentality, no ego, just action.
• Thrives in a work hard, play hard environment with a high-performance team.

Competitive salary — candidates with 10+ years’ experience are welcome; we can support senior profiles. Meaningful equity stake to align your success with the company’s journey. Comprehensive health insurance and wellbeing package. Significant long-term upside as we move toward industrial trials and commercial rollout. 28 days of annual leave. Hybrid working (Oxford base, potential London office). High autonomy and responsibility from day one, supported by a Business Analyst. Ambitious, supportive and high-performance team culture.