Lead of Polymer Chemistry & Characterization

BacAlt is building next-generation bio-based performance materials from precision fermentation. We work at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, and manufacturing to create high-performance alternatives to petrochemical incumbents. 

We are hiring a senior chemist to lead the analytical and chemical development of our materials platform. 

The Role 

You will define the analytical standards that determine product quality — molecular structure, functional modification, performance consistency, and the technical specifications that support scale-up, customer qualification, and IP development. 

You will own the chemistry that turns our base materials into the family of derivatives our customers need, and the characterisation that makes every grade defensible. 

This is a lead-level individual contributor role today. As the platform scales, the role may grow to include hiring and building a team. 

What you will own 

1. Analytical and characterisation development. Modern spectroscopic, chromatographic, and thermal analysis methods — selected, set up, and operated to a standard the industry can rely on. 
2. Polymer modification and derivatisation chemistry. Selecting and executing the chemistries that map to real product targets and customer applications. 
3. Quantitative method development for functional modification — built rigorously enough to defend in front of a customer, an auditor, or a partner. 
4. Technical specifications and quality systems — the analytical anchor that supports scale-up, customer qualification, and IP filings. 

Who we are looking for 

This is a role for an industry chemist who has built before — and wants to build again at the scale of a platform company. 

1. 8+ years of hands-on industrial experience in polymer chemistry, polysaccharide chemistry, biopolymers, or specialty performance materials. 
2. A demonstrated record of scale-up. You have taken polymer processes and products from lab to pilot or commercial scale — work that ended up on the shelf, not just in a journal. 
3. Working command of modern polymer characterisation. You design the experiment, defend the data, and brief a customer. 
4. A track record of polymer modification and quantitative method development on real materials in industrial settings. 
5. Industrial judgment. You can prioritise what matters for product, customer, and IP — and let the rest go. 
6. Operator's instinct. Comfortable choosing instruments, writing SOPs from a clean sheet, and working without a 200-person organisation around you. 
7. Advanced degree preferred, but not required. We value depth of work, industrial judgment, and demonstrated execution more than credentials alone. 

Strong plus: experience in specialty chemicals, performance materials, or the personal-care, cosmetics, food, or industrial-ingredient sectors. 

What you get 

Ownership of a critical function. Meaningful equity. A pre-pilot facility that already works. 

Apply 

CV plus one paragraph — a paragraph, not a cover letter — on a piece of polymer or characterisation work you have shipped and are proud of. Send it to [Confidential Information] AND [HIDDEN TEXT]