ISL Talent
Research And Development Manager
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Origen Carbon is building zero-emission lime, and using it as the foundation for large-scale carbon removal. Our oxy-fuel kiln technology has been proven at large-scale demonstration, achieving over 99% calcination extent and 97% uptime. In March 2026 we completed our Pre-FEED study, confirming a path to zero-emission lime at no cost premium, against a lime market worth over $50 billion today and a route into carbon removal markets that could be worth $1 trillion by 2050.
We're well funded, backed by a $13m Series A led by Barclays Climate Ventures. Getting to our first commercial-scale lime plant means building a genuinely profitable lime business first, with carbon removals as the long-term platform built on top of it. That is a deliberate choice, not a step back from our original ambition.
We've retained ISL Talent to help us hire a key role of Research & Development Manager.
Why this role exists
Our R&D team is five people (two Senior Scientists, an R&D Engineer and two Technicians): small, experienced, and ready for a leader who wants to build something real. This is a genuine opportunity for an R&D Manager to shape how the function operates: set the priorities, build the rhythm, and create a team that knows exactly what it is working toward and why. You will report to our VP Technology, and free up their time to focus on the company's wider technology strategy.
What you'll be doing
- Own day-to-day delivery of the R&D and innovation roadmap
- Turn our technology direction into concrete workstreams, experiments and milestones
- Lead applied R&D from early concept through to pilot-scale validation
- Manage and develop the team directly, including people more scientifically specialised than you
- Plan R&D budget and resourcing alongside our VP Technology and Finance
- Support CFD and virtual approaches to new product development at Origen
- Feed inventions and freedom-to-operate considerations into our IP pipeline
- Work with our commercial team to connect research priorities to what the business actually needs
- Build relationships with universities, research partners and grant funders
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What you won't be doing
- Setting Origen's overall technology strategy alone. That sits with our VP Technology, though there is real room to grow into more ownership as you build trust
- Managing a large team. This is a small group, and the job is making them work brilliantly together, not building an empire
About you
- You've managed people directly, including people who might know more about the science than you do
- You've led applied R&D somewhere that things actually got built, tested or scaled, not just researched
- You're commercially minded and can connect day-to-day research to what the business needs
- You're comfortable executing someone else's technical direction today, with the ambition to shape more of it over time
Also useful: background in bulk materials, minerals, industrial decarbonisation or another technically complex, capital-intensive sector, and any experience with CFD or systems/unit operations modelling.
We're just as interested in people who don't tick every box above but bring real drive and ownership. If that's you, we'd still like to hear from you.
Probably not the right fit if
- You need someone else to set your priorities before you can get moving
- You'd rather be the most senior scientist in the room than manage the people who are
- You need a big team and established infrastructure to do good work
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Compensation and benefits
- £85,000-£95,000, depending on experience.
- Unlimited annual leave (we guide around 35 days; average is around 32)
- 20 days paid sick leave after a 3-month probation, pro rata in year one
- Employee share options (4-year vesting, 1-year cliff)
- Enhanced parental leave: 12 weeks full pay maternity, 6 weeks full pay paternity/other parental leave
- £500 annual wellbeing bonus, paid every January
- Pension via salary sacrifice
- Employee Assistance Programme via Bupa
- Salary sacrifice schemes: cycle to work, home and tech, electric car
How we work
Primarily based in our Bristol office, in practice at least three days a week, with flexibility on hours.
Our hiring process
- First conversation with our retained Talent Partner at ISL Talent
- Virtual call with our VP Technology and People & Talent Partner
- In-person meeting in Bristol with the wider team and leadership
We'll keep you posted at every stage, and we're happy to answer questions about the R&D manager role, the company or the process at any point, not just at the end.
A recruitment process that works for you
We want everyone to have the opportunity to show us what they can do. If there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you through the application or interview process, please let us know. We're happy to have that conversation at any stage and will do our best to accommodate what you need.
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