Location London
Job-type Permanent
Salary £/$ Competitive
Reference BBBH13166_1619244027

Acre is delighted to be supporting Notpla in their search for a Technical Director, a newly created role within their fast-growing and innovative business.

Notpla is a VC-backed, London-based start-up with an ambitious mission, 'to make packaging disappear'. It is leading the way in developing biodegradable packaging, made from seaweed and plants, to produce a range of home compostable products and reduce unnecessary plastic in the environment.

A true disruptor in the packaging industry, Notpla's first product "Ooho" is a flexible packaging for liquids that biodegrades in 4-6 weeks, or can even be eaten, and has been used to distribute Lucozade at the London Marathon, to provide edible cocktails at festivals, and to replace ketchup sachets for Just Eat. Their pipeline of products continues to grow and includes a liner for boxes and a film to replace plastic pouches, all of which will also be home compostable and biodegradable in nature.

Notpla are in a stage of rapid growth and have recently hired a Commercial Director to help realise ambitious targets. The Technical director will be responsible for managing the R&D team (currently 7 chemists & 5 engineers, expected to grow to 50 in the next 2-3 years), scaling up manufacturing processes, developing operations and continuously bringing to scale the new materials, products and processes coming from the R&D team as a key element of Notpla's strategy to disrupt the market.

In this role, you will:

  • Manage the industrialisation of Notpla product lines by, for example, identifying external manufacturing partners, evaluating their potential and establishing relationships where there are opportunities to leverage Notpla's unique products for a win-win partnership

  • Successfully scale up manufacturing processes (from lab to pilot to large scale)

  • Drive the maker-culture within the business, in collaboration with the Co-CEO's, by leading, supporting and growing the engineering and chemistry teams. You'll work closely with the team to create professional development plans and forster an environment of learning and coaching

  • Oversee the deployment of an industrialisation process to deliver flawless execution of new product launches and scale ups

  • Evaluate the sustainability credentials of different technologies and optimise industrial setup for minimal environmental footprint

  • Support development and deployment of next generation products materials and equipment with a focus on standardization to leverage agility and flexibility

Notpla is a team of designers and chemists, engineers and entrepreneurs committed to doing what hasn't been done before. Founded by Makers, the team is proud of and passionate about the product process and is looking for someone with similar values who can set a vision and lead a cross-functional team to create a seismic shift in the zero-waste packaging sector.

You will:

  • Have significant experience leading manufacturing operations, with a strong focus on chemical engineering or manufacturing engineering

  • Be experienced in scaling up processes ideally from science principles to large scale manufacturing

  • Be comfortable working with leading edge technologies in an organisation pushing the boundaries of industry standards

  • Be able to support industrialisation requirements of a fast growing startup

  • Be comfortable with both new materials and new manufacturing processes, at the intersection of chemistry and engineering

  • Have a strong knowledge of ideally the packaging industry, paper manufacturing, toll coating and/or film casting technologies

A Bachelors Degree in Operations, Chemistry, Engineering, or Manufacturing would be highly advantageous.

Notpla is made up of a tight-knit team of highly talented, purpose-led people who aren't afraid to do things differently and are truly committed to putting an end to our plastic pollution problem. If you are ready for an opportunity to jump in, tackle challenges head-on, contribute to a world-changing solution and have a bit of fun along the way, then we encourage you to apply.