Thermulon is an impact driven team of entrepreneurs and scientists developing a high-performance, fire-safe insulation material, aerogels. Aerogels are the most insulating materials known to science and we believe they’ll be at the centre of the green transition which is taking place today. At its heart – Thermulon is a process engineering company developing and scaling new chemical methodology to make aerogel powders in a more efficient manner, reducing their price.

Our 3 year vision is to successfully scale Thermulon’s innovative chemical process to produce highly insulating aerogels at a commercial scale.

Our Values

Thermulon strives to develop the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs by giving them the opportunity to learn cutting-edge laboratory techniques in a highly collaborative and dynamic environment. 

Our values, we know that living our values helps us achieve our mission and makes Thermulon a great place to work. When we see values we celebrate them and we are not afraid to call it out when we need to see change.

• Impact – we know if we achieve our vision we will make the world a better place, this impact excites and drives us every day.
• Collaboration – we love what we do, we are all experts and we rely on each other for skills and experience. We pull together as a team, we are self aware and don’t always need to ask for help because we can see when those around us need some support and we lean in to that. We care about spending time with our friends and family and work in a time efficient manner accordingly.
• Growth - we are scientists and we are innovating so we are always learning. We are inquisitive. We actively seek opportunities to learn from each other, teach each other and lean into learning outside of Thermulon. We value self-awareness and the desire to learn from each other as we all grow in our careers.
• Fast pace – we can have a huge impact when we collaborate and grow together, bringing this all together means we move at a pace. We are decisive and urgent.

Job Profile

Based in labs in London; we are seeking an ambitious and talented chemical engineer to participate in all aspects of Thermulon’s in-lab process development and scale-up.  You will work closely with Thermulon’s technical team (Chemists & Engineers) on the development, optimisation and improvement of aerogel process chemistry and production equipment, as well as working on product analysis, data collection and reporting. As Thermulon moves to increasingly larger scales of production, you will grow with the team in terms of responsibility and technical capability in solvent-based chemical processing.

Responsibilities

- Working with Thermulon’s senior engineers to operate and optimise benchtop reactor equipment including:

• Carrying out end-to-end batch production runs of silica aerogel
• Optimising equipment for continuous production of aerogel slurry
• Handling all aspect of reagent preparation, solvent / material handling, and waste management

- Operating analytical equipment for silica aerogel product

- Feeding back operational and product data to both the process and product development teams 

- Involvement in bi-weekly technical meetings for engineering strategy & goal-setting

- Input to senior engineers on process and equipment design

Requirements

Technical Requirements

• Msc/MEng in Chemical Engineering – required
• Experience working in-lab on wet chemical processes / reactions - required
• Experience working with benchtop or pilot-scale chemical reactors – beneficial
• Ability to develop process flowsheets and heat & mass balances based on processes operated in-lab - beneficial
• Knowledge of silica-based chemistry – beneficial

Personal requirements

• Excited to join a fast-moving start-up team
• Looking to grow with the company through rapid expansion
• Quick to learn, pick up and critically evaluate information
• Ability to keep accurate and diligent records
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work independently, prioritise own tasks and bring fresh ideas
• Strong commitment to lab health & safety

Diversity and Inclusion statement

We are especially keen to encourage applications and interest from individuals underrepresented in the deep tech and climate space. Climate change and climate justice is both a social and inclusion issue. We especially welcome applicants with experience across all equality and inclusion challenges and are keen for applicants who may have different experiences to those exactly specified in the application.

Benefits

Job type: full time, London based, permanent contract

Salary: £30,000-£40,000, depending on experience

Our Benefits: 

Flexibility (more individual flexibility will be possible on a 121 basis)

• Flexible working hours
• You decide when to use bank holidays, you don’t have to take them when they are (typically 8 of them)

Wellbeing

• 30 days holiday for everyone
• Private Medical insurance – Vitality for you and your dependents (Medical, Dental, Mental Health, Wellbeing, Alternative treatments and Travel Insurance)
• Health/wellbeing allowance £600 per year to spend on activities which lead to better physical / mental health (it may be the gym, it may be a spa day, it may be a membership to headspace or some sessions with a therapist, you know you best)
• Ride to work scheme – new bike and equipment with the government contributing tax to help pay for it B2W
• End of sprint Deliveroo / eat out long lunch – time together to enjoy eat others company over some food and out of the workspace

Life Events (choose one of the below each calendar year) (for those who have passed probation)

• Enhanced Ethically invested pension – increase the company contribution by 1%, or
• Enhanced Mat and Pat leave – up to 12 months enhanced (Mat: 6months 100% and 6 months 50% Pat: 2 months 100%, 1 month 50%), Policy available for those with a minimum of 2 years service, or
• Life event support £1000 – whether it’s a wedding, buying a house, something big and important to you we will help