Founding Chief Scientist
Location: Colchester, Essex, UK
Postal code: CO1 1
Start date: 2026-09 to 2026-10 (depending on grants and seed funding)
Overview
Founding Scientific Co‑founder in Emissions Verification. Quantum Envelope is building the layer that turns disagreeing measurements into one number a regulator or an auditor can trust, traceable to a national standard. Our first focus is methane, the fastest lever we have on near‑term warming. We are looking for a scientist to own that science as a founding partner starting September or October.
Scope
You would build the cross‑scale method at the heart of the company. The core problem is the scale join, characterising the error between a close‑up measurement and a satellite view of the same source, and carrying a traceable uncertainty budget all the way through to an attributed, source‑level emission. You would test the method against controlled‑release data where the true emission is known, then prove it on a real site, where observation is sparse and emissions intermittent, the hardest case there is. The inversion science is mature and you would build on it. The unsolved part is the traceable cross‑scale join, and that is yours to crack.
Who you are
- You work in atmospheric inverse modelling or emissions measurement science, and you think naturally about uncertainty and traceability.
- You likely hold a PhD in a relevant field, or have equivalent research depth.
- Your gas might be methane, carbon dioxide or something adjacent; what matters is the method, not the molecule.
- You want to take rigorous science out of the paper and into infrastructure the world can use.
- You care about climate, and the idea of setting the standard for how emissions are verified is a problem you would give years to.
- Preference is to be based in the UK or EU.
The deal
This is a founding role with equity, a scientific co‑founder seat, not a hire. You would shape the company and the science from the first decisions, with an open methodology under independent governance and a live research bid behind it. We are part of a well‑regarded climate venture builder, and the mission is huge and the timing is right, with regulation arriving now that makes this layer essential.
Next steps
If this is your kind of problem, we would love to talk. Tell us what you work on now and what drew you to it, and we will take it from there.
