Location: San Leandro, CA
Employment type: Full Time
Experience level: Intermediate - Senior
Apply before: Dec 11, 2024

OVERVIEW

Sway is a California-based biomaterials startup harnessing the power of seaweed to create home-compostable replacements for single-use plastics. We are focused on developing and scaling high-performance, seaweed-based, flexible packaging. Sway's technology drops into traditional plastic infrastructure, while simultaneously replenishing ocean health, promoting regenerative materials, and ultimately creating a more inclusive climate movement.

THE ROLE

Sway is seeking an innovative and driven Senior Materials Engineer with strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to help Sway shape the future of biobased, compostable materials, starting with flexible film packaging. As part of our R&D team, this role will play a pivotal part in advancing seaweed-based biopolymer materials through development and scale-up to commercialization. Working closely with R&D and supply chain teams, this Senior Materials Engineer will oversee key formulation, testing, and process development activities to accelerate the advancement of prototypes and concepts to scalable, refined commercial products.

As part of an influential and fast-growing startup, this role offers significant growth potential, with opportunities to advance their career within R&D and manufacturing as our company scales. Sway fosters a proactive, solutions-oriented work environment where our tight-knit, interdisciplinary team collaborates intensively. Exceptional organization and communication skills are vital, as is attention to detail within a fast-moving startup environment. Ideal candidates are self-starters who excel in dynamic, interdisciplinary environments and bring both independent initiative and a collaborative, team-oriented mindset to their work. Passion for sustainability and a commitment to Sway's mission to create regenerative, eco-friendly, first-of-their-kind materials are essential.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Formulation Development:
• Develop, formulate, and characterize novel seaweed biopolymer formulations for the consumer packaged goods industry and other relevant applications.
• Support scientific team(s) and allocate resources effectively to ensure project completion in a timely fashion.
• Owner of key Stage Gate and Agile projects and project management.
• Lead prototyping efforts to assess how formulations interact within real world conditions.

Materials Testing and Characterization:
• Understand material properties and develop hypotheses for how to improve seaweed biopolymer performance, and experimentally verify the concepts.
• Materials characterization and testing using in house or 3rd party instrumentation and data analysis (TSE, Cast & Blown Film, MFI, Tensile, DSC, FTIR, SEM, and other flexible packaging material characterization techniques)
• Process stability testing and quality assurance testing for scale up / commercialized products.

Process Development and Process Operations:
• Act as a process expert for bioplastic processing (film extrusion, compounding, injection molding, blown film, and other related process techniques).
• Operator and owner of the lab melt process and related equipment.
• Primary point of contact of maintenance issues related to the lab melt process and related equipment.
• Write and maintain materials specifications, test procedures, and SOPs for existing and new lab equipment.
• Exhibit excellent safety leadership in the workplace and more specifically around lab equipment.
• Develop preventative maintenance procedures for new and existing lab equipment.

Project Management and Technical Reporting:
• Effectively communicate data and results through technical written documentation and oral presentations to both internal. (multidisciplinary) and external (investors, manufacturing and testing partners, suppliers, customers, etc) audiences.
• Identify research opportunities based on emerging trends in the industry.

Application / Technical Service:
• In-person lab testing and troubleshooting for customer technical issues.
• Work directly with Sales and Technical Support to determine action plans for customer technical issues.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum BS degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Polymer Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 4 years of Materials Science R&D and Materials Processing industrial experience required.
• 1-2 years Materials Science experience with bioplastics and polymer processing, including packaging applications experience.
• Demonstrated experience with plastic materials, process engineering and hands on polymers processing.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• A MS or higher degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Polymer Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Physics, or a closely related field.
• Minimum 5 years of Materials Science R&D and Materials Processing industrial experience required.
• Demonstrated practical knowledge of Materials Science, polymer chemistry, melt processing, and laboratory experimentation techniques.
• Effective working knowledge of structure - property relationships and polymer characterizations.
• Experience analyzing materials and associated data through a variety of methods including thermal analysis, mechanical testing, and characterization.
• Direct experience related to scale-up and commercialization of materials.
• Experience with biobased polymers is a plus.
• Track record of innovative thinking, technical accomplishments, equipment troubleshooting, and leadership of multiple projects.
• Passion and knowledge of sustainability/circular economy principles and end-of-life compostability testing are a major plus.
• Demonstrated documentation, presentation, and research skills.
• Highly self-motivated individual, focused on providing high quality laboratory data in an efficient manner, while exhibiting excellent workplace skills.
• Clear and informative written communication, effective presentation of numerical data.
• Strong oral communication, and the ability to speak clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; demonstrates presentation skills.
• Problem solving skills and the ability to make competent, independent, decisions in a timely manner to ensure excellent progress on projects and assigned tasks.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple and or changing priorities with minimal supervision.
• Familiarity and proficiency with a broad range of thermo-mechanical and physical testing techniques.
• Excellent problem solving skills.
• Detailed-oriented, able to work both independently and in a collaborative project-focused environment with R&D, manufacturing, quality control.