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Polymer Chemist, FLO Materials

Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Position Overview: 

FLO is seeking a full-time, experienced Polymer Chemist with a PhD and/or related industry experience to join our growing team. This role will focus on research and development for an innovative recyclable material platform. A successful candidate will have a strong background in polymer chemistry, extensive knowledge of polymer synthesis and characterization, and advanced knowledge of both mechanistic concepts and practical synthetic techniques is a must. Daily tasks include running reactions, and isolating, purifying, and analyzing products. The job requires the ability to work safely in a synthetic laboratory, and handle flammable, reactive chemicals on an R&D scale. We are looking for someone with a passion for finding creative and systematic solutions to complex challenges. You will work closely with senior stakeholders to define technical roadmaps and execute towards the commercialization of FLO’s material platform. This position is partially grant-funded, therefore a portion of your time will be dedicated to meeting the objectives of the research project.

If you are motivated and excited by the ownership of internal R&D planning, mapping the formulation space for a new class of recyclable plastics, designing and synthesizing polymers to performance specifications based on a fundamental understanding of polymer structure/property relationship, and converting R&D into productization, then join our fast-paced and energetic team to bring FLO’s true recycling solutions out of the lab and into the world. 

• Drive internal R&D initiatives to develop the ECAN platform for sheets, coatings, and adhesives. 
• Lead and conduct experiments to synthesize, characterize, and recycle new polymer platform 
• Establish structure-to-property relationships for ECAN platform and develop key metrics for monitoring material optimization and process development. 
• Collaborate on chemical process scale-up of polymer synthesis for pilot and commercial production.
• Mentor and train junior scientists and technicians in polymer synthesis and characterization techniques
• Contribute to the development of new patentable ideas and the protection of existing intellectual property.
• Prepare technical reports in support of venture and grant-funded objectives.
• Interface cross-functionally with other R&D departments, business development and manufacturing groups to support commercial production of infinitely recyclable plastics.

Background & Experience 

• PhD in scientific disciplines such as synthetic chemistry, materials science, polymer chemistry, chemical or process engineering, or related fields; with 3+ years of experience synthesizing diverse polymers in a research or industrial R&D setting.
• Expertise in polymer chemistry with an emphasis on synthetic methodology, total synthesis, and/or process chemistry
• Experience with various polymerization strategies and expertise in vitrimers or dynamic covalent chemistries is a plus. 
• Hands-on experience using analytical methods to validate synthesis (HPLC, NMR, etc.) and other polymer characterization techniques. 
• Demonstrated ability to develop key metrics for monitoring material optimization and process development.
• Established relationships with industry suppliers and distributors.
• Excellent multi-tasking, organizational, project management, and communication skills.

The company is based in Santa Barbara. The Polymer Chemist will need to be authorized to work in the United States and be willing to travel when needed to work safely face to face with customers, partners, and fellow team members.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, medical condition or disability, or any other legally protected status.

To apply, please send resume and short description of your interest and background through Linkedin.

Company Background

Plastic, a significant invention of the last century, was meant to be cheap, durable, versatile, and useful. 

However, the overproduction is now infiltrating our lives, jeopardizing food supplies, and harming wildlife and human health. With plastics pollution projected to double over the next five years, there is an enormous opportunity to create versatile, high-performance, recyclable plastics to keep materials in circulation longer to capture market growth while reducing the demand for virgin production and plastic accumulation. 

Current recycling solutions are inadequate, and particularly the recycling of high-performance plastics in complex waste streams is challenging, costly, and energy intensive. We need fixes from the source, which require us to invent sustainable materials that combine the usefulness and versatility of plastics with end-of-life consideration as the first criteria. FLO is commercializing a new class of proprietary circular polymers, Enamine Covalent Adaptable Network (ECANs), that form durable and dynamic plastics designed to be mechanically and chemically recycled at the end of life. ECANs can be recycled at low temperature, low energy, in the absence of catalysts, and even in mixed waste streams without compromising quality and efficiency. We can manufacture our resins into products of various form factors - such as sheets, fibers, rubbers, foams - with versatile material properties to be recycled and used as the building blocks of another product of equal or higher value for applications in fashion, electronics, automotives. With any startup, focus is crucial, and we are starting with sustainable eyewear. High-end eyewear frames are currently carved out from cellulose acetates using subtractive manufacturing (i.e., CNC machining), translating to 70-90% waste. By replacing incumbent materials, FLO can help manufacturers produce more frames by collecting and recycling production waste. This product is minimally capital and material intensive, and it allows us to simultaneously de-risk the science, the manufacturability, and understand the economics and life-cycle emission nuances of a circular business model. 

At FLO, we are passionate about enabling sustainable product design and we are really excited about helping consumers, brands, and their manufacturing partners achieve zero waste, easily and profitably, without compromising design and performance. To achieve this, we are looking to grow a team of ‘recycling warriors’ with a shared vision of making our version of circular economy, a reality.