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Senior Biopolymer Scientist
The Company
Tera Mira is a London-based deep-tech start-up replacing elastane, the stretch in almost every garment you own, with an elastic fibre made from seaweed. Elastane is petroleum-derived, impossible to recycle, and a major source of textile microplastics; our fibre is bio-based, biodegradable, and drawn from one of the most abundant renewable feedstocks on the planet.
We were named a winner of the H&M Foundation Global Change Award 2026 and are backed by Innovate UK, the Henry Royce Institute, and others betting on a future where high-performance textiles don't cost the earth.
The Role
The chemistry of our fibre is central to how it stretches, how it recovers, how it holds up after a thousand washes, all of it comes down to formulation. As Senior Biopolymer Scientist, you'll take the lead. You'll design and refine the formulations that determine what our fibre can do, working directly with the founding team at the point where fundamental science becomes a product the world can use.
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What You'll Be Doing
- Own the design and optimisation of our bio-based elastomer formulations, balancing elasticity, recovery, and durability
- Develop and refine crosslinking strategies to push mechanical performance beyond what ionic systems alone can achieve
- Design experiments to map structure property relationships across formulation variants then use that knowledge to move fast
- Translate formulation insights into clear guidance for wet-spinning process parameters
- Evaluate raw material and supplier options to inform formulation and sourcing decisions
- Document your work rigorously to support IP, grant, and partner conversations
This Role May Be for You, If You
- Have a background in polymer chemistry, biopolymers, materials science, or a closely related field
- Have hands-on experience with crosslinking chemistries and structure property relationships in polymers
- Are energised by hard problems with real consequences not incremental work, but genuinely new territory
- Thrive in a small team where you shape the direction as much as you execute it
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Qualifications
- Education: PhD or MSc in polymer chemistry, biopolymers, materials science, or equivalent research experience
- Experience: Hands-on lab experience with hydrogel or biopolymer formulation, ideally in an applied or industrial setting
- Technical: Familiarity with crosslinking chemistries (ionic, covalent, or both) and mechanical characterisation methods
What You'll Find at Tera Mira
- A part-time role (3 days per week), with remote working possible
- Real ownership over the core material chemistry behind our fibre platform
- The chance to be the person who cracks one of sustainable fashion's hardest problems
- Work that sits at the intersection of deep science and genuine environmental impact
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Jessica, London
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