Materials Scientist

Cellsense transforms algae and cellulose into sustainable embellishments and beaded fabrics for the fashion, jewelry, and beauty industries. Our proprietary material replaces sources of microplastics and heavy metal pollution while offering designers a wide range of brilliant colors, clarities, and properties such as fluorescence. Our manufacturing system cuts lead time for customized beaded products from weeks to days by eliminating expensive tooling and tedious manual labor. Cellsense is VC-backed, and we are currently scaling our process while running paid pilots with industry partners, with inbound interest from 55+ companies. You would be joining at a particularly exciting stage of growth.

The Role:

We're looking for a Materials Scientist to lead formulation and chemistry development at Cellsense as we scale. You'll work across our biopolymer systems to improve material clarity, surface finish, durability, and processing behavior, and support the transition of formulations from lab to manufacturing.

As a key member of a small, collaborative team, you'll work closely with our founder, engineering team, and technical advisors. This role offers meaningful ownership and direct impact on the development and deployment of Cellsense's next-generation materials.

Responsibilities:

• Design and iterate on biopolymer formulations to support Cellsense's scale-up.
• Apply DOE to evaluate fillers, plasticizers, crosslinking chemistry, and drying conditions against defined aesthetic and performance targets.
• Optimize rheology for automated material deposition and film formation.
• Develop practical methods to characterize dimensional stability, mechanical performance, and wet/thermal stability.
• Convert validated formulations into reproducible batch procedures, material specifications, and QA/QC standards.
• Work closely with our founder and mechanical engineer to scale formulations into repeatable production

What We’re Looking For:

• MS or PhD in Materials Science, Polymer Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field with 2+ years of industry experience; candidates with a BS and 3 to 5 years of relevant industry experience are also welcome.
• Hands-on formulation experience with polymers, hydrogels, or composites, not just characterization: you have blended, modified, and scaled materials yourself, with a record of taking projects from concept to completion.
• Working knowledge of biopolymers, crosslinking mechanisms, and phase behavior.
• Ability to design and execute experiments, analyze data, and document methods for reproducibility and scale-up; strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Self-motivated problem solver who thrives in a startup environment and works effectively across disciplines.
• Proactive and collaborative communicator who is excited to see work move from lab to real products and contribute to Cellsense's mission.

Location:

• This role can be based in Brooklyn or Buffalo
• On-site

What We Offer:

• $85k - $110k Salary + equity
• Health insurance and benefits
• Opportunity to work on meaningful environmental impact as part of a tightly knit team
• Ownership of formulation and chemistry development
• Travel: 10-15% (domestic)
• Job Type: Full-time, on-site