R&D Engineer at Syntetica in Paris, Île-de-France, FR

WHO WE ARE

Syntetica is a rapidly growing startup on a mission to decarbonize the textile industry through textile-to-textile recycling — starting with nylon.

Today, most synthetic textiles are made from crude oil, and less than 1% are recycled back into new fibers. We're here to change that. At Syntetica, we’ve developed a patented depolymerization process that breaks down nylon-rich textile waste into virgin-equivalent nylon monomers — while separating materials like elastane, polyester, and cotton for further recycling.

To date, we’ve raised >€7M from leading investors including EQT Ventures, the family offices of Peugeot and Etam, BPI France and Entrepreneur First.

We’ve already forged key partnerships with major textile players like Victoria’s Secret and ETAM — as well as leading fast fashion, sportswear and automotive brands — and have assembled a core team of 15 experts.

If you want to help bring truly circular materials to global scale — and solve one of the textile industry’s biggest sustainability challenges — come build with us.

WHO YOU ARE

You are a hands-on R&D engineer who thrives where science meets scale. You’re eager to move beyond bench-top experiments and take ownership of reactions that run at meaningful volumes. You will work at the intersection of R&D and Engineering to directly shape the design and execution of our pilot plant by generating data to optimize and scale our process. You enjoy collaboratively solving complex problems and are excited by the challenge of transforming breakthrough chemistry into an industrial reality.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Scale Syntetica’s core depolymerization chemistry from lab-scale (~10 g) reactions to kilo-lab-scale (~10 kg), ensuring reproducibility, yield, and product quality
• Collaborate closely with the the R&D and Engineering teams to translate experimental results into process assumptions, specifications, and operating windows
• Document experiments, SOPs, safety procedures, and technical learnings to build the company’s core process knowledge
• Design and execute targeted lab experiments to define operating conditions and equipment design inputs for the pilot, including kinetics, temperature/pressure windows, residence time, mixing considerations, materials compatibility, and impurity behavior
• Support pilot operations by running lab investigations that diagnose issues, validate process assumptions, and refine conditions, allowing the pilot to generate reliable data and inform the demo design
• Invest in our company values and vision and champion them as we grow

BACKGROUND & SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related field
• 5+ years of hands-on experience running and troubleshooting chemical reactions, ideally including chemical depolymerization, solid–liquid separations, neutralization, and purification techniques such as crystallization or distillation
• Practical application of analytical techniques (e.g. HPLC, GC, LC-MS, XRF, NMR, FTIR, etc.) to reaction monitoring and product characterization.
• Experience translating lab processes toward scale-up, including reaction optimization, mass balances, and reproducibility, ideally at kilo-lab scale.
• Safety mindset and familiarity with chemical handling, SOPs, and lab operations.
• Strong communication skills and demonstrated cross-functional collaboration abilities in English; French is a plus
• Strong experimental design and data analysis skills, with the ability to clearly document and interpret results.
• Well-organized and practical approach to problem solving, driven by curiosity and attention to detail
• Comfortable with ambiguity; ability to figure out what needs to be done—and then do it

At Syntetica, we are a dynamic group of individuals, united by a common mission, who believe our diversity is key to our success. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive work environment, dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination on any basis.