Polymer Chemist in London

DyeRecycle is a UK-based fibre reclamation company that transforms real-world waste into high performing materials. Our green chemistry technology separates clean fibres from vibrant colours, refining the unrecyclable into spin-ready textiles.

We are a rapidly growing team working at the cutting edge of fibres, green chemistry, and circular products. In your role, you will be building a technology that is redefining the bounds of material recyclability. At present, only 1% of textiles are recycled back into textiles, while the remaining 120 million metric tons of waste remains in landfill. Your discoveries are the backbone of our innovation, and your experiments actively shape a more sustainable future. The work is fast paced, bold, and joyful, and we never lose sight of why we are here.

Role summary

As a Polymer Chemist, you will unlock the next generation of circular textiles by leading the development of scalable chemical recycling processes for PET fibre to fibre recycling. This is an end-to-end technical role — you will design experiments, run bench and pilot trials, develop and validate analytical methods, and collaborate with engineers to demonstrate industrial scale technologies across extraction, washing, drying, glycolysis, and repolymerisation. This role suits someone with agile experience in polymer characterization, depolymerization, polycondensation polymerization chemistry, preferably with hands-on experience in PET glycolysis. This position is not a continuation of academic research. You will balance innovation-driven experimentation with precise project planning and success metrics. Your experimental designs will de-risk rapidly changing product requirements, shifting validation methodology and data translation to meet evolving client and market requirements. This role requires you to understand what tests and collaborative evidence will create new partnerships, all with the highest standards of scientific rigor.

Key responsibilities

• Process development & experimental design
• Develop and optimise scalable PET decolourisation and decontamination via our solvent route for textile feedstocks.
• Conduct a range of materials testing and characterisation studies, including rheometry testing, MFI, tensile strength, XRD, FTIR, TGA, DSC, and textile testing.
• Formulate and validate PET glycolysis workflows for decoloured PET fibre, including catalyst selection, EG/PET ratios, reaction conditions, and BHET purification.
• Establish re-polymerisation/polycondensation routes from BHET or other monomers, targeting defined molecular weight/IV and polymer quality for intended downstream applications.
• Troubleshoot interference from waste contamination and define pre-treatment specifications and corrective process steps.
• Design and run bench scale and pilot (continuous) extraction trials and develop wash/drying trains and IL recovery/regeneration steps.
• Data Translation & Scale-Up
• Synthesise and structure experimental data to clarify product development decisions.
• Draft replicable SOPs to ensure robust, traceable protocols.
• Develop accurate but flexible project timelines with measurable milestones and key results, to be validated by key experiments and validation protocols.
• Contribute to strengthening of company intellectual property, including patents and trade secrets.

Qualifications & Skills

• PhD or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Textile Engineering, or related field, preferably with 2-3 years of direct R&D industry or high-growth startup experience, including a strong research background and proven ability to plan and execute experimentation plans linked to business KPIs.
• Hands-on experience with PET glycolysis / chemical depolymerisation and BHET chemistry, including catalyst handling and product purification.
• Experience with PET re-polymerisation / polycondensation and polymer characterisation (IV, GPC, thermal analysis).
• Exceptional experimental design (DoE) and replication for KPI validation, with experience in commercial product development a significant benefit.
• Robust command of diverse validation methodologies for product development, including HPLC, LC-MS/MS, GPC/SEC, NMR, Karl-Fischer, DSC/TGA, ICP-MS, HS-GC.
• Practical experience with lab and pilot chemical equipment including jacketed reactors (semi-continuous), filtration/centrifugation, vacuum ovens/dryers, and bench-scale polymer synthesis apparatus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to write clear SOPs, technical reports, while also translating findings to non-technical audiences.

We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Full time position with flexible working hours
• Generous pension contribution and benefits
• Access to materials and textile recycling conferences and networking events
• Regular team events
• LinkedIn Learning training courses

How to Apply

Please include a cover letter and your current CV. Interview stages: 30-45 minute initial interview with 10 minutes presentation by candidate; 90 minutes interview with a case study.