Applied materials and industrialisation lead

At its core, the role bridges science and operations, taking concepts and turning them into into robust materials and processes that can be produced safely, consistently, and without friction in existing systems. The role focuses on material definition, process design, and scale-up in close collaboration with development and operations teams.

Reporting to the Head of Applied Science & Policy, the role complements biological and systems science capability within the team and directly supports A Healthier Earth’s mission to deliver durable, investable carbon removal solutions.

Materials & Process Industrialisation (Core)

• Lead the translation of material science and chemical formulations into scalable manufacturing processes.


• Work across biochar-based and similar particulate, thermally treated, or chemically bound material systems, where both chemistry and physical processing determine final performance.


• Define material specifications, operating windows, and acceptance criteria grounded in:
  
  
  
  • Chemical behaviour and binding mechanisms
  
  
  • Physical properties such as particle size, strength, friability, and moisture sensitivity
  
  
  • Manufacturing and handling constraints
  
  


• Diagnose and resolve issues that arise when moving from trials to repeatable production.


• Act as the technical owner of the R&D to manufacturing boundary, defining what “ready for scale” means and preventing premature or under-evidenced deployment

Manufacturing Scale-Up & Process Development

• Design, run, and interpret bench and pilot-scale trials to understand how formulations behave under different processing conditions.


• Apply structured experimentation (e.g. DoE) to optimise:
  
  
  
  • Mixing and binding behaviour
  
  
  • Particle formation and durability
  
  
  • Drying, cooling, stabilisation, and screening steps
  
  


• Translate pilot learnings into industrial process designs, SOPs, and operator guidance.


• Support transition from pilot to production, identifying risks, sensitivities, and failure modes early.


• Apply manufacturing discipline to stabilise novel processes as they scale.

Materials Characterisation & Quality Control

• Define the critical material properties required for performance and consistency.


• Coordinate appropriate analytical testing (internal or external) to assess physical and chemical characteristics relevant to production and use.


• Establish pragmatic QA/QC approaches focused on manufacturing control, not academic completeness.


• Where appropriate, design and commission light-touch laboratory capability to support development and quality assurance ensuring that lab infrastructure should serve production needs.

Process Safety, Handling & Deployment Readiness

• Support safe design and scale-up of powdered and particulate material processes.


• Work with HSE, operations, and external specialists to ensure:
  
  
  
  • Safe handling and storage
  
  
  • Appropriate mitigation of dust and material hazards
  
  
  • Practical integration into operational environments
  
  


• Ensure materials and processes are fit for deployment in real-world systems and machinery.

Broader Materials Science Support

• Provide materials engineering input to low-carbon construction and infrastructure materials used across the Pure DC estate.


• Support assessment of material performance, durability, and constructability.


• Act as a technical advisor on materials selection where climate performance, manufacturability, and operational reliability intersect.

Essential

• Strong professional background in chemical engineering, process engineering, or materials science, with experience in powders, granulation, or particulate materials.


• Experience in solid handling design and control, including the ability to author Basis of Design documentation for these systems


• Demonstrable experience taking chemical or materials-based products from development into manufacturing or scale-up environments.


• Ability to operate across both:
  
  
  
  • Chemical understanding (reactions, formulation behaviour, material interactions), and
  
  
  • Manufacturing and process engineering (robustness, repeatability, control).
  
  


• Experience applying manufacturing discipline to novel or evolving processes.


• Clear technical communicator, able to document decisions, trade-offs, and operating boundaries.

Highly Desirable

• Experience in chemical manufacturing sectors such as fertilisers, minerals, cementitious materials, polymers, or other processes producing a physical product from a chemical system.


• Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement methodologies, particularly in stabilising and scaling early-stage manufacturing processes.


• Experience working with bio-based or waste-derived materials.


• Exposure to pilot plants, commissioning, or early commercial production environments.

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Process Engineering, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, or a closely related discipline.


• Advanced degrees or specialist training welcome but not required where matched by strong applied experience.