Product Developer (f/m/x) in Film Extrusion technologies

Your mission

We’re solving global plastic pollution – and you can be part of the solution!

With our groundbreaking technology , we transform agricultural plant residues into an innovative and environmentally friendly biomaterial – bio-based, plastic-free, and compostable. A material that leaves no harmful traces. Our goal is to replace as much conventional plastic as possible – and that’s where you come in.

As Product Developer (f/m/x) in Film Extrusion technologies , you develop and optimize traceless’ innovative and holistically sustainable film products , ensuring they run robustly on extrusion lines and meet functional, quality and sustainability requirements. You will drive the advancement and optimization of our material technologies and products , to help us enable a transition to use traceless products for a maximum array of applications and make the biggest possible contribution to solving global plastic pollution.

Your responsibilities:

• Develop , scale and optimize film formulations based on traceless materials for blown and/or cast film extrusion (e.g. packaging, single-use items, etc.).
• Design structured experiment plans , document all trials and evaluate data to derive clear development directions.
• Coordinate and perform material and film testing (e.g. tensile, puncture, tear, thickness profile, optical properties, barrier and sealing tests) together with internal labs and external partners.
• Investigate relationships between material structure, processing conditions and film properties, and feed results back into formulation and process design.
• Translate application requirements (e.g. mechanical strength, barrier, sealability) into film structure, recipes and process settings.
• Plan, execute and evaluate lab-, pilot- and production-scale extrusion trials, in collaboration with our Application Engineers.
• Create and maintain technical documentation for products and processes (specifications, test plans, trial reports, SOPs, scale-up reports).
• Prepare and accompany scale-up and validation runs on internal and customer extrusion lines.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other groups to align on capabilities, customer needs, compliance and product implementation.

You will spend your working days in an innovative work environment with start-up flair in our laboratory in Harburg, Hamburg.

Your profile

• University degree in polymer science, material science, chemical engineering or similar with an applied research mindset.
• You have 5+ years of experience in biopolymer-based product and features developmen t.
• You have 5+ years of technical experience in the (bio)polymer converting industry with a specialization in film extrusion processes.
• Strong technical understanding of natural polymer structures, interactions, processing techniques and polymer compounds.
• Hands-on mentality and a solution-oriented mindset .
• Proven track record of delivering projects on time from concept to implementation, and at the required quality standards .
• Excellent decision-making skills and analytical thinking , with the ability to manage complexity and ambiguity.
• You are a team player with excellent communication skills and thrive in cross-functional collaborations .
• You have an entrepreneurial spirit , are reliable, and think innovatively.
• You're down-to-earth , direct, with a sense of humour.
• You are proficient in both spoken and written English (and ideally German ).

Why us?

At traceless, you have the opportunity to do work that truly matters – for the planet and for future generations. With the launch of our first large-scale production plant in Hamburg-Harburg at the end of 2025 , an exciting new chapter begins for us: industrial scale-up and entry into the commercial market. We are growing rapidly and are looking for committed people who want to help shape the future of truly sustainable materials.

What you can expect:

• Meaningful work with real environmental impact
• Start-up spirit combined with industrial ambition and plenty of room to shape your role
• Personal and professional growth in a fast-scaling company
• An inclusive, international team with more than 18 nationalities
• Flat hierarchies and a fair, respectful company culture

About us

traceless is a young company - with a big vision: a future free of pollution and waste! Our award-winning company was founded in Hamburg in 2020 by our female founding duo Anne and Johanna. By now we are a diverse team from different disciplines, ages and twelve nationalities, united by our common mission: to contribute to solving plastic pollution and build the regenerative industry of the future. To achieve this, we are working to bring our materials to market quickly and to build our first large-scale production facility in Hamburg-Harburg.

We have created a diverse, inclusive and fair working environment that we want to preserve and further develop. Therefore, we welcome all applications - regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation and identity. Because to tackle plastic pollution, it's going to take all of us.

You are interested? Great! Just upload your CV and a short cover letter in the application form. Alternatively, you can email them to us at [email protected] . We look forward to getting to know you!