Epoch Biodesign is a well-funded, venture-backed start-up using biology to make every type of plastic recyclable - starting with nylon.
Using a unique combination of AI, synthetic biology and green chemistry, we are scaling enzymatic recycling in order to transform currently unrecyclable plastics and textiles into new, virgin-quality materials. Our technology yields substantial reductions in carbon emissions with disruptive unit economics, preventing waste from entering landfill or the environment, allowing us to solve this very urgent challenge.
With our pilot plant already processing Nylon 6,6 waste, we will imminently complete construction on our larger demo facility. This site will produce material destined for use in garments made by some of the world’s biggest fashion, sportswear and luxury brands, and also in components for some of the world’s largest car companies.
Epoch is seeking a highly organised Scientific Project Manager to oversee R&D project operations during a maternity leave. Your primary focus is to ensure operational continuity by anticipating gaps in workflows, resources, or documentation and ensuring they are resolved. You will manage daily task tracking, maintain rigorous documentation standards, and lead the project coordination team to remove blockers and maintain momentum across our technical work-streams.
Project Coordination: Maintain project logs (actions, risks, and decisions) and direct focus to proactively identifying and mitigating risks to timelines. Lead the project management team in prioritising weekly tasks and provide support for kick-offs, stand-ups, and retrospectives.
Systems Management: Act as the primary owner of R&D project hubs and dashboards in Notion, ensuring accuracy and ease of use are prioritised. Provide tool training for new team members.
Operational Support: Oversight of SOP completeness and lab-scale production records to support tech transfer. Monitor resource allocation and manage logistics, including vendor coordination and technical shipments. Support the lab operations team to design and improve workflows.
Cross-functional/Strategic Communication: Act as a high-impact communicator who thrives in the "in-between" spaces between teams and departments, ensuring the right information and data reaches the right stakeholders at the right time.
Background: 3–4 years in project management or operations within an R&D or manufacturing environment. Must have scientific literacy.
Systems: Proficiency in Notion (or similar tools) for database and template management.
Technical Literacy: Experience with organising scientific documentation and understanding R&D workflows.
Communication: Clear and professional; comfortable leading the conversation with senior scientists and commercial leads to keep projects on schedule; seek feedback for improvement of systems and processes.
Proactive: Anticipate needs of projects through thorough planning and engagement with technical teams.
Transparency: You will design and maintain "single-source-of-truth" documentation that is lightweight but comprehensive.
Action-Oriented: You will act as the primary driver of project completion, ensuring clear ownership and documented decisions.
Data-driven: You will provide summaries of project data to leadership, and use data to drive process and systems improvements.