AI-Driven Polymer Application Engineer

We are seeking a motivated Research Engineer to develop functional polymers, new tools, and methods for characterising functional polymer materials across application domains — spanning biomaterials such as hydrogels to electronics  — sensors, measurement devices, and automated characterisation platforms, and to translate these into application-relevant performance data. The role bridges materials engineering, device and instrumentation development, and AI-enabled data analysis, and complements AI-Driven polymer chemistry by advancing how materials are measured, monitored, and validated at scale, including within a self-driving polymer discovery lab environment.

Job Responsibilities

• Develop novel characterisation approaches for functional polymer systems spanning electronic/dielectric applications (e.g. low-k/high-k dielectrics, dielectric loss, electrical/electronic property measurement) and biomaterials applications (e.g. hydrogels, biomedical performance), including sensor-based, in-situ, and real-time methods.
• Design and prototype measurement devices, or instrumentation to capture material properties and performance under realistic operating conditions.
• Expand and adapt the characterisation toolset to support autonomous and high-throughput operation within a self-driving polymer discovery lab, including integration with robotic and automated sample-handling systems.
• Build automation tools and workflows that raise the throughput, reproducibility, and data quality of materials characterisation.
• Develop AI/ML-driven analysis pipelines for classification, prediction, and interpretation of characterisation and sensing data.
• Establish structure–property–performance relationships and translate functional materials into application- or device-relevant demonstrators.
• Contribute to data infrastructure, including a centralised materials database and standardised data-ingestion pipelines spanning acquisition, storage, and analytics.
• Prepare technical reports, publications, and disclosures; collaborate across teams and with external partners.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Polymer Chemistry/Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience in materials characterisation and in developing measurement methods, sensors, devices, or instrumentation.
• Programming and data-analytics capability (e.g. Python, R, MATLAB, SQL), including machine learning workflows and, ideally, hardware/instrument interfacing or automation.
• Ability to work independently and within a multidisciplinary team, with strong communication and documentation skills.

Strong advantage if candidate have

• Experience characterising electronic or dielectric properties of polymers (e.g. impedance spectroscopy, dielectric analysis) and/or developing electronic sensors or flexible/soft devices.
• Experience with biomaterials or biomedical-relevant polymer systems (e.g. hydrogels, drug delivery).
• Familiarity with lab automation, robotics integration, high-throughput experimentation, or self-driving lab platforms.
• Track record of publications and/or contributions to intellectual property.