ABOUT Banyan Nation is a pioneer in circular economy for plastics, and a major player in India's FMCG bottle-to-bottle recycling industry. In the last one year, Banyan helped partners like HUL, Reckitt, and Shell put over 1 billion bottles made from recycled plastics on the shelves. Banyan Nation’s recycled resins are widely regarded as the benchmark for quality in the Indian HDPE and PP plastics recycling industry. Banyan Nation became the first Indian company to receive USFDA approval for its HDPE bottle grade resins. Banyan Nation's proprietary washing, color-homogenization, and deodorization techniques make its resins the preferred choice for FMCG and lube packaging applications. Banyan Nation won the World Economic Forum Circulars Award in 2018 and was also recognized as a ‘WEF Technology Pioneer’ in 2021. Banyan Nation was the recipient of the Social Enterprise Award at the ET Startup Awards in 2022 and the ‘Climate Warrior' Award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards in 2023 for its groundbreaking work in plastics recycling. Banyan Nation is also supported by the Indian EXIM bank’s “Ubharte Sitare” Program. Headquartered in Hyderabad, Banyan currently operates a state-of-the-art recycling plant in Pashamylaram, Telangana and is expanding to 5x capacity by 2025/26. JOB DESCRIPTION Role: Principal Engineer, R&D Location: Hyderabad Reporting to: Head – R&D GENERAL PURPOSE In this role, the incumbent must be a highly skilled polymer expert to join our R&D team. The candidate will be responsible for conducting research, analyzing data, and developing innovative polymer materials for various applications. This role requires expertise in polymer chemistry, materials characterization techniques, and a strong background in polymer processing and synthesis. DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES Novel Technology/Capability Development • Conduct research and development activities to design, synthesize, and optimize polymer materials with desired properties. • Analyze experimental data, interpret results, develop standard test methods for FTIR, DSC, TGA, GC-MS etc. • Stay updated to facilitate exchange of ideas with the internal working groups on current literature and advancements in polymer science and technology. • Define TDS, CoA, MSDS SoPs for new grade developments (R&D). Stakeholder management • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand application requirements and develop tailored polymer solutions. R&D lab/ Data management: • Design and execute experiments to evaluate and validate the performance of polymer materials in different environments and applications. • Maintain accurate documentation of experimental procedures, results, and observations, formalize recipe database - map testing data for all in-house/convertor/client trials. • Maintain repository of all defects and solution guidelines. • Accountable for regulatory compliance check, AMC of all R&D in-house lab equipment. KEY KNOWLEDGE / COMPETENCIES REQUIRED: • Technical: Proficiency in polymer characterization techniques such as FTIR, NMR, DSC, TGA, SEM, and rheology. Familiarity with polymer material testing and analysis, including mechanical testing, thermal analysis, and spectroscopy. Familiarity with relevant software and modeling tools used in polymer science. • Industry Knowledge: Strong knowledge of polymer chemistry, polymerization techniques, and structure-properties. Experience in polymer synthesis and formulation, including knowledge of different polymerization methods and polymer processing techniques. • Communication: Strong communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams and present research findings. • Presentation & Analytics: Ability to design and execute experiments, analyse data, and draw meaningful conclusions. • Interpersonal skills: Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot and optimize polymer materials and processes. • Decision making: Should be able to make priorities and make decisions in line with R&D goals. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED. Ph. D in polymer science, chemistry, materials science, or a related field bachelors/master’s degree from CIPET or equivalent institutes may be considered. 5-8 years of relevant industry experience as polymer scientist is preferrable. Note: