Material Process Engineer

Join to apply for the Material Process Engineer role at Notpla. 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, we’re an innovative, action‑oriented scale‑up developing and manufacturing uncompromisingly natural packaging solutions from seaweed and plants.

As a Process Engineer, you will operate across Technology Readiness Levels 3 to 8, lead complex, multi‑disciplinary projects that bridge the gap between early formulation development and commercial scale production, and spend your time working primarily through external manufacturing and production partners. You will be responsible for driving the implementation of new products, particularly injection‑moulded and coated materials, while coordinating the competing needs of Research, Development and Commercial teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage manufacturing and scale‑up projects from concept through validation to sustained production.
• Define project scope, technical requirements, timelines and risks across TRL 3 to 8.
• Ensure projects meet agreed performance targets, budgets and delivery milestones.
• Drive the industrialisation of new injection moulding products and material enhancements with external production partners.
• Translate development learnings into actionable production strategies, ensuring a smooth transfer from R&D to manufacturing.
• Oversee internal and external production trials, commissioning activities, and material qualification stages.
• Lead the development of new grades and product formulations, to match partners/customers technical specifications.
• Act as the technical and operational lead for external manufacturing partners.
• Maintain strong working relationships, ensuring shared understanding of project goals, performance metrics and quality expectations.
• Resolve production issues collaboratively and maintain transparent communication across internal and external teams.
• Establish and maintain quality control frameworks that ensure manufactured materials meet all internal specifications and industry standards.
• Conduct regular reviews, audits and root‑cause investigations where needed to maintain robust production performance.
• Demonstrable experience with 8D methods desired.
• Work closely with the Supply Chain and Operations teams to ensure material availability, production scheduling and inventory control.
• Support the integration of supply chain processes with expanding extrusion and injection moulding capabilities.
• Evaluate manufacturing processes with emphasis on sustainability, cost reduction and improved consistency.
• Identify opportunities for efficiency improvements, new technologies or alternative processing routes that enhance product performance.
• Provide technical guidance to Research, Development, Manufacturing and Commercial teams.
• Influence decisions using data, process knowledge and technical credibility, even within teams outside your direct reporting structure.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence and delivery accountability.

Salary £33,500 - £42,000 + EMI Share Options

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.

Seniority level Mid‑Senior level

Employment type Full‑time

Job function Engineering and Information Technology

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.