Job Title: Product Development Engineer
Department: R&D / Product Development
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Role Description
We are seeking a Materials Engineer to lead the technical development, testing, and quality assurance of our product. This role will support the creation of a robust, scientifically driven product specification, ensuring material performance is understood, consistent, and optimised for various pipeline applications. The successful candidate will be instrumental in establishing rigorous test regimes, refining material formulations, and defining acceptance criteria to achieve product conformity and reliability at scale.
Key Responsibilities
Product Development & Characterisation
* Develop a detailed understanding of the current material composition, behaviour, and performance boundaries.
* Characterise raw materials and blends, including particle size distribution, mineralogy, composition, purity, moisture content, density, and other relevant parameters.
* Support formulation refinement and optimisation for different pipeline conditions, defects, pressures, and pipe materials.
* Work closely with external labs (e.g., EDAX/XRD/ESEM providers) to define test scopes and interpret results.
Testing & Scientific Method
* Design and execute laboratory-scale test programmes to assess material performance under varied mechanical, chemical, and environmental conditions (e.g., fatigue, pressure cycling, temperature cycles, erosion, accelerated ageing).
* Support design of large-scale trials to validate lab findings and correlate with field performance.
* Develop and document a formal scientific methodology for assessing the capabilities and limits of the product.
Quality Assurance Framework
* Establish QC processes for day-to-day product acceptance, including clear tolerance ranges for particle size distribution, composition, moisture content, impurities, and density.
* Develop inspection protocols for consistency between manufacturing batches.
* Work with suppliers to understand and audit the manufacturing process (milling, sieving, blending methods, impurity levels, etc.).
* Support implementation of material CoAs and ensure alignment with business acceptance criteria.
Documentation & Reporting
* Produce technical reports, material specifications, QC manuals, and test plans.
* Maintain detailed records of formulations, batch performance, and testing outcomes.
Essential Skills & Qualifications
* Degree in Materials Science/Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field (MSc or PhD ideal).
* Experience with analytical tools such as XRD, SEM, EDAX/EDS, TGA, FTIR, or similar.
* Knowledge of mechanical testing and equipment (fatigue, pressure cycling, thermal testing, erosion).
* Experience working on R&D projects, ideally involving material formulation, characterisation, or product development.
* Experience setting up or managing QA/QC processes.
* Strong analytical mindset and ability to design and execute scientific test programmes.
* Excellent technical writing and communication skills