iyris
Polymer Processing Team Lead
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Lead our polymer processing team, owning extrusion and coating operations from trial runs through to consistent production output.
Company Overview
iyris is a material science company developing additive technologies that make industries more resilient, starting with agriculture. Our mission is to optimize the world’s most abundant resource; sunlight to help industries perform better, grow smarter, and operate more sustainably.
Our award-winning heat-blocking additive is already embedded into agricultural covers worldwide, helping growers reduce heat stress, save water and energy, and achieve higher yields. With more than 60 trials completed and adoption across ten countries on five continents, iyris is scaling globally through partnerships with leading manufacturers and distributors.
Recognized as a multi-award-winning innovator, iyris is building a platform of next-generation additives with applications that extend far beyond agriculture, including aquaculture, infrastructure, and climate resilient industries of the future.
We’re looking for talented and experienced individuals who have a desire to join us on our journey and make a positive impact on the world.
Role Description
The Polymer Processing Team Leader is a dual-responsibility, highly practical role combining expert hands-on machinery operation with team supervision. You will spend the majority of your time directly on the lab floor i.e. setting up, running, troubleshooting, and cleaning twin-screw compounding extruders, industrial-scale injection moulders, and film extrusion lines. Aside from technical operations, you will act as the custodian of the processing facility, ensuring maximum equipment uptime, smooth logistics, and strict quality validation. You will coordinate a small team of operators and technicians to ensure daily material trials and compounding schedules are executed safely and accurately.
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The candidate will be expected to be an exceptional communicator, highly organized, and capable of leading a team. The position is based in London in the UK, with the candidate expected to be in our North Acton office location 5 days per week.
Primary Responsibilities
The role’s primary responsibilities are listed, but not limited to the below:
- Physically set up, configure, and calibrate twin-screw co-rotating extruders, an industrial injection moulding machine, and downstream film extrusion equipment.
- Safely transport and swap heavy mould tools, extruder screws, and dies utilizing a mobile workshop crane and manual forklift truck.
- Formulate, weigh, and precisely dose polymer bases, organic/inorganic pigments, and functional additives in strict accordance with technical trial specifications.
- Directly run processing lines, manually optimizing processing parameters such as melt temperature profiles, screw speed configurations, torque limits, and die face cutter alignments to achieve steady-state output.
- Lead and perform extensive manual screw pulls, barrel cleaning, and purging protocols to guarantee zero cross-contamination between sensitive colorimetric or additive material trials.
- Direct raw material storage across our pallet racking system, and oversee final product sealing using portable bag-closing equipment.
- Act as the primary technical point of contact to troubleshoot immediate process anomalies (e.g., polymer surging, melt temperature spikes, un-melted aggregates, or poor pigment dispersion).
- Conduct primary physical testing and quality assessments on extruded materials, collaborating with lab teams to cross-reference outputs against target colorimetric and mechanical specifications.
- Accurately log real-time process data, trial observations, and maintain rigid batch traceability documentation.
- Familiarity with testing workflows using advanced analytical suite instruments (Differential Scanning Calorimetry [DSC], Thermogravimetric Analysis [TGA], Dynamic Mechanical Analysis [DMA], tensile test machines, haze meters, and tear testers) to support immediate process/recipe adjustments.
- Organize daily workflow tasks and resource allocation on the shop floor for extrusion/moulding operators and lab technicians.
- Lead daily shift handovers and toolbox talks to align the team on safety hazards, experimental priorities, and specific material handling alerts.
- Provide hands-on mentoring and practical training to junior operators to upskill the team across all laboratory processing lines.
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Safety and Environment (HSE)
- Enforce and personally practice a strict safety-first culture, ensuring exact PPE compliance for handling hazardous powder pigments, chemical additives, and high-temperature polymer melts.
- Conduct routine risk assessments, adhere to COSHH guidelines for chemical storage/handling, and maintain excellent 5S workplace organization throughout the facility.
Required Skills & Experience
This role will report to the Head of Technology and is expected to have / be:
- 3-5 years of direct, practical experience running twin-screw compounding extruders, injection moulding, or film extrusion lines. Must be comfortable handling manual changeovers and heavy machinery cleaning.
- Strong mechanical aptitude. Deep troubleshooting knowledge of twin-screw extrusion, injection moulding, and film extrusion parameters (temperature profiles, screw speed, torque limits). Expert capability in reading technical recipes and understanding the physical process parameters of polymer melting and mixing.
- Proven experience supervising operators within a fast-paced shift structure.
- Strong awareness of COSHH regulations, hazard controls and safe operating procedures in chemical or hot-melt environments.
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