Job Description

Job Advert

Polymer Chemist

Location:

Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ

Salary

: 45,000 - 55,000 DOE

Hours:

Full time



We are looking for a skilled Polymer Chemist to join our team leading chemical circularity in the fashion industry.

What we do

It is time to address chemical circularity in the fashion and textile industry. Our technology solves two of the greatest challenges facing the industry: dye pollution and textile waste.


We are turning to sustainable green chemistry to close the loop for dyes in the textile industry while also enabling fibre circularity. We are extending the service life of dyestuff to colour a new garment. We do this by using textile waste as an untapped feedstock for dyes and colours.

What you'll do

As a Polymer Chemist you will bring hands-on experience in PET glycolysis (chemical depolymerisation), BHET chemistry and re-polymerisation / polycondensation.


You will lead development of scalable chemical recycling processes for decoloured PET fibre, validate compatibility with downstream chemical recycling and polymer synthesis, develop and validate analytical methods and own product quality through KPI delivery.


This is an end-to-end technical role and will be responsible for:-

Developing and optimising scalable PET decolourisation & decontamination via our solvent route for textile feedstocks. Designing and running bench (semi-continuous) and pilot (continuous) extraction trials, developing wash/drying trains and IL recovery/regeneration steps. Developing and validating glycolysis workflows for decoloured PET fibre Developing re-polymerisation / polycondensation routes from BHET or other monomers, targeting defined molecular weight/IV and polymer quality for intended downstream applications. Troubleshoot interference from residual solvents or dye fragments and define pre-treatment specifications and corrective process steps. Conduct a range of materials testing and characterisation studies, including rheometry testing, MFI, tensile strength, XRD, FTIR, TGA, DSC and textile testing

What you'll need

PhD or Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Textile Engineering, or related field


1-2 years of direct textile industry experience, including a strong research background and proven ability to plan and execute experiments.


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).


Practical experience with lab and pilot chemical equipment: jacketed reactors (semi-continuous), filtration/centrifugation, vacuum ovens/dryers and bench-scale polymer synthesis apparatus.


Solid experimental design ability (DoE), statistics and replication for KPI validation.


Strong analytical skills: HPLC, LC-MS/MS, GPC/SEC, NMR, Karl-Fischer, DSC/TGA, FTIR, ICP-MS, HS-GC, and experience developing/validating methods.


Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to write SOPs, technical reports and present findings.



If this sounds like the role for you, contact us!



Please note that whilst we are hoping to complete short-listing for this role prior to the Christmas break, formal interviews will not take place until after the New Year.



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