Materials Development Engineer

About Solena Materials
Solena is the first computational protein materials design company, creating bespoke solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. We use computational protein design, machine learning, and automation to accelerate the development of materials targeted at multiple sectors, including fashion apparel and performance wear. Our new protein-based fibres will replace petrochemically-derived materials, to create a new world of biodegradable, functional and sustainable smart materials for consumers, industry, and the planet.
We’re a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers and software developers from diverse backgrounds brought together by a passion for creating advanced materials for our customers. We are now looking for a Materials Development Engineer or Senior Materials Development Engineer to join our growing team. Following our post-seed fundraise, Solena is entering a scale-up phase — shifting from a lab-focused setup to pilot-scale facilities for our new protein-based fibres. We’re now focused on onboarding exceptional talent with the right experience to support this important transition.
Role responsibilities:

• Develop scalable production processes for protein-based fibres including wet fibre spinning
  
• Operate and optimise our pilot wet fibre spinning line, and improve our spinning process to increase fibre performance and throughput
  
• Conduct a range of materials testing and characterisation studies, including SEM, XRD, FTIR, polarised Raman, TGA, rheometry, and textile testing
  
• Work closely and flexibly with our interdisciplinary team of materials scientists, engineers, and synthetic biologists
  
• Design and carry out experiments independently
  
• Propose hypotheses, coordinate experiments and test them efficiently
  Qualifications & Experience required
  
• BSc or higher (MSc or PhD) in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Textile Engineering or equivalent work experience
  
• High levels of creativity and experience in planning experiments
  
• Significant research experience
  
• Good project management experience
  
• Experience in handling chemicals
  
• Good documentation practice
  
• Excellent communication skills
  
• Excellent Microsoft Office skills including Excel, Word, SharePoint and PowerPoint
  
• Experience with analysing data using Python or other programming languages
  
• Nice to have: understand protein structure and chemistry
  
• Nice to have: experience of materials and/or textile characterisation (e.g. moisture wicking, breathability and abrasion testing)
  
• Nice to have: experience working in fibre spinning processes
  
• Nice to have: a tinkerer mentality - you like to build and fix things on your own
  We offer:
  
• Competitive salary
  
• Full time position with flexible working hours
  
• Generous pension contribution and benefits
  
• Regular team events
  
• Exciting and dynamic start-up environment in West London
  
• A commitment to equality and valuing diversity
  
• Subscription to Perlego, a searchable digital library
  
• LinkedIn Learning training courses
  Please include a cover letter and your current CV when applying.
  No agents, please.
  Key words: chemical engineering, materials science, materials engineering, biomaterials, textiles, sustainable textiles, protein chemistry, fibre spinning, materials development, sustainable materials, product development, biotechnology, materials characterisation