Associate Formulation Engineer

Employment type: Permanent

Location: Cambridge (UK) with a degree of international travel

FlexEnable overview

FlexEnable is the only company to offer organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) materials and a complete set of low-temperature manufacturing process for flexible displays and Liquid Crystal Optics films, for manufacture in existing flat panel display production lines. Applications for FlexEnable’s technology include flexible Organic LCD displays (OLCD) for consumer electronics and automotive, and flexible biaxially formable active Liquid Crystal Cell (LC Optics) that actively modulate, bend and focus light for applications including AR/VR Optics and smart glasses, automotive smart windows and switchable privacy displays. Our FlexiOM™ OTFT materials are the world’s highest performance across all key parameters and are already shipping to production partners. FlexEnable supplies OTFT materials, technology transfers, and licenses to its processes to display manufacturers allowing them to upgrade and diversify with truly flexible electronics and tap into exciting new markets.

The role

The Associate Formulation Engineer is a key member of the Research team, responsible for device and materials innovations in the growing arena of Plastic Electronics. The group is primarily focused on advanced materials development and the role will be responsible for a wide range of material assessment activities and device application. Reporting directly into the Research Group Manager, this is a hands-on, practical engineering role, working with other inquisitive, innovative and exceptional engineers. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the potential to make a strong and high energy contribution to the company, proactive in Quality Control and driving excellence in Health & Safety.

The role will provide a predominantly supporting function to the rest of the Research Group and therefore be exposed to a wide variety of exciting projects. Working primarily in the laboratory the role will involve formulation as well as experimentation. The role may require travel within the UK and abroad to meet with business partners, suppliers and customers.

Responsibilities of the role

• Primary responsibility for rapid, high quality FlexiOM products fabrication (overall responsibility is shared among the team). This will include:
• Formulating OTFT materials compounds into FlexiOM products
• Validating sourced materials
• Troubleshooting formulation related issues to ensure continuous availability and suitability of products, escalating issues promptly within the team
• Assessing formulation quality and stability of produced formulations
• Creation of customer-specific formulations
• Assessing physical parameters (Process compatibility, performance, stability) to determine lead formulations
• Writing development protocols and short development reports, SOPs and protocols
• Involvement with scale-up of potential formulations to manufacturing sites including the opportunity to support manufacture

• Testing and data management including recording, analysis and reporting on an individual and team basis
• Independent, practical, laboratory-based experimentation.
• Responsibility for providing experimental results in concise verbal and written updates.
• Work as part of a cross-functional team of physicists, material engineers, electrical engineers to optimise materials and process.
• Work with thin film deposition and characterisation techniques.
• Promote continuous improvement in technical knowledge, company processes, and laboratory equipment capabilities
• Demonstrate adherence to Health and Safety at all times.

Key personal qualities

• Flexible approach to work in a dynamic and changing environment.
• High attention to detail when carrying out and reporting on experiments.
• Strong problem-solving skills, the ability to approach tasks in a structured manner and the tenacity to resolve on-going technical issues.
• Ability to work independently, manage and plan/prioritise workload and effectively manage time.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to communicate effectively at all levels and in different ways.
• Comfortable working in an informal atmosphere.
• Team player. 

Qualifications and experience

• BSc or higher in Materials Science / Chemistry or equivalent practical experience.
• Proven experience with the development and documentation of quality control tests and specifications
• Experience of materials / chemical formulation in a laboratory or industrial environment
• Proven experience of working in a multidisciplinary team

Applicants should apply via careers@flexenable.com providing their CV, a covering letter explaining how they believe they are suitable for the role and confirmation of their current salary and benefits.