Mechanical Engineer, Shellworks
Sustainable packaging alternatives
Job no longer available
Sustainable packaging alternatives
21-100 employees
Job no longer available
21-100 employees
Company mission
To make plastic waste a thing of the past.
Role
Who you are
- You have a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and 2+ years of industry experience, ideally relating to packaging and/or FMCG
- You have experience with moulded component design and DFM
- You are comfortable with hands-on approach to engineering and prototyping, preferably with some experience in a workshop environment operating industrial equipment such as polymer processing and/or metalworking machines
- You have good practical knowledge of injection moulding, blow moulding and tool design. Experience in the design of tooling for injection moulding and blow moulding is also desirable
- You have strong 3D design and CAD skills. Prior experience in Solidworks would be beneficial
- You have strong engineering analysis skills including tolerance analysis, Design of Experiments techniques and Moldflow. You enjoy experimentation, data analysis, validation, and documentation. Experience in design or process characterization and validation using statistical tools would be an added benefit
- You have excellent communication and presentation skills
- You have the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects, be flexible and prioritise workload accordingly
- You believe that the high autonomy environment of an early-stage start-up is the right place to unleash your potential
- You love finding smart ways to solve hard problems, and always favour simple solutions over complex ones
What the job involves
- Design and engineer new ways of creating completely compostable packaging through industrial conversion processes, including injection moulding, blow moulding, and extrusion
- Support the entire product life cycle from proof of concept through to launching at large scale with well known brands
- Plan and implement projects and work packages according to key business objectives
- Produce and present engineering proposals and feasibility results to internal and external stakeholders
- Document mechanical engineering specifications aligned with customer requirements and the sustainability vision of the company
- Design and produce prototypes of new packaging innovations through rapid tooling, or rapid prototyping techniques such as 3D printing and machining
- Develop DoE’s to analyse and optimise designs and manufacturing processes in order to meet product functionality, quality or yield specifications
- Lead design reviews and FMEAs for new product developments to communicate and mitigate against technical and business risks
- Implement and negotiate Design for Manufacture techniques with vendors to transition designs from prototype to mass production without compromise to the product specification
- Manage tooling, assembly and manufacturing activities with vendors during production ramp up to the agreed cost, quality and timing
- Use primary and literature research for data driven decision making
- Work alongside team members in molecular biology, material science, polymer processing, product design and operations teams in a collaborative environment
Salary benchmarks
Our take
Single-use plastic has become an overwhelming environmental problem. Hundreds of millions of metric tonnes of plastic are produced every year, and the vast majority of this is not recycled. Shellworks is setting out to provide a solution by using bacteria found in soil and marine environments to create alternative compostable vegan packaging, which performs like plastic until it is disposed of.
The company is currently focused on addressing the beauty and personal care industry. It's new material, Vivomer, can be broken down in any natural environment and can be used for products like cream containers, lipstick applicators, and serum dispensers. This has attracted conscious and luxury brands, including BYBI, Liha, and Sana Jardin.
Having raised fresh backing in 2024 from Sie Ventures, Shellworks is focused on expanding its teams, as well as investing in tech innovation and expanding its platform of materials.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Mar 2026
$15m
SERIES A
May 2022
$6.6m
SEED
Total funding: $23.7m
Company benefits
- 🌴 21 days holiday + birthday off + 27-31st December, in addition to all statutory and public holidays
- 📚 Opportunities for growth and development as we expand and scale our impact
- 🥼Access to a fully kitted out on-site lab (incubators, autoclaves, bioreactors, etc.) and pilot line workshop (machine tools, injection moulder, extruders, blow moulders, etc.)
- 👍 Competitive salary and equity options
- 🎉 Regular social events and fully stocked office kitchen
- 🐚 Part of a tightly knit team aiming to make a meaningful social impact.
Company HQ
Fish Island, London, UK
Leadership
Insiya Jafferjee
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously an Engineer at Apple, Ford and Bose.
Share this job