Plastics, Materials & Sustainability Engineer

Plastics, Materials & Sustainability Engineer – Mid-Level to Senior Blue Standard Inc. United States | Full-Time Anticipated Start: Late November 2026 Compensation: $120,000–$160,000+ depending on experience, plus benefits and equity About Blue Standard Inc. Blue Standard Inc. is a material science and advanced manufacturing company developing and commercializing next-generation materials and products designed to reduce reliance on conventional persistent plastics. With operations and technical partners across the United States and Europe, Blue Standard works across material development, injection molding, product engineering, manufacturing, sustainability, and commercialization. As we expand manufacturing into the United States, we are looking for an exceptional Plastics Engineer to become a key technical member of our organization and help build our U.S. manufacturing platform from the ground up. The Opportunity This is not a traditional plastics engineering position. We are looking for a mid-level to senior engineer who wants to combine hands-on manufacturing engineering with material science, process development, quality systems, R&D, sustainability, testing, regulatory work, and commercialization. A major initial responsibility will be transferring manufacturing and process knowledge from Blue Standard's established European production operations into our developing U.S. manufacturing platform. The selected engineer will spend approximately 1 to 2 months working directly with our production and technical teams in Austria and Hungary , with international travel, accommodations, and reasonable business expenses paid by Blue Standard. The objective is to deeply understand our materials, processing methods, tooling, equipment, quality systems, and manufacturing know-how—and then help us implement, improve, document, and scale those systems in the United States. This role will maintain an ongoing technical relationship with our European engineering and production teams. We are looking for someone who will not simply replicate existing processes, but continually ideate, experiment, improve, and optimize them . What You'll Work OnU.S. Manufacturing & Process Engineering You will play a central role in developing Blue Standard's U.S. production capabilities, including: Developing and implementing production systems and manufacturing processes Supporting installation, commissioning, and optimization of injection molding equipment Translating European manufacturing processes into scalable U.S. production systems Developing standard operating procedures and technical documentation Optimizing cycle times, yields, consistency, material utilization, and production efficiency Troubleshooting molding, tooling, material, and equipment issues Supporting tooling development and design-for-manufacturing reviews Evaluating automation and manufacturing-efficiency opportunities Developing production metrics and process-control systems Working closely with European technical teams on continuous process improvement Quality Systems You will help build the quality infrastructure required to support a growing advanced-manufacturing organization, including: Quality-control and quality-assurance systems Incoming raw-material specifications In-process quality controls Finished-product testing and inspection Production tolerances and acceptance criteria Process documentation Traceability systems Corrective and preventive action procedures Customer-specific quality requirements Materials, Testing, Certification & Regulatory This role will become an important internal technical resource for Blue Standard's growing materials platform. Responsibilities will include: Developing third-party testing protocols for materials and finished products Coordinating testing with qualified external laboratories Managing relationships with testing and certification organizations Supporting material and product certifications Maintaining technical and regulatory documentation Evaluating applicable U.S. and international regulatory requirements Developing testing programs for new materials and applications Supporting technical responses to customers and regulatory organizations LCA & Sustainability You will also help expand Blue Standard's capabilities around environmental performance and sustainability measurement. This may include: Supporting development and maintenance of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) Working with third-party LCA specialists Collecting and validating manufacturing, energy, transportation, and material data Supporting carbon-footprint analysis Developing technical support for environmental and sustainability claims Helping customers understand the environmental implications of material and manufacturing choices Research & Development R&D will be an important component of the position. You will work with internal and external technical teams to: Evaluate new materials and formulations Improve existing materials Develop new manufacturing processes Test processing parameters Investigate material and product performance Develop new applications Improve manufacturability and production efficiency Support cost-reduction initiatives Move successful R&D projects from laboratory and pilot work into commercial production Universities & Research Partnerships Blue Standard intends to build meaningful relationships with universities and research institutions in the United States. The Plastics Engineer will help: Identify leading polymer, plastics, material science, sustainability, and manufacturing laboratories Establish university research relationships Coordinate external testing and research programs Develop sponsored research opportunities Work with professors, researchers, laboratories, and technical institutions Develop potential internship and engineering-talent pipelines Grants & Government Programs The position will also support Blue Standard's participation in relevant government and non-dilutive funding programs. This may include: Identifying federal and state grant opportunities Writing and supporting technical sections of grant applications Developing technical project scopes Providing engineering and manufacturing data Supporting applications involving advanced manufacturing, sustainable materials, domestic production, material science, and circular-economy technologies Coordinating with outside grant and government-program specialists Customer Technical & Sustainability Support As our materials platform expands, our customers increasingly rely on Blue Standard for technical guidance. You may participate directly with customers on: Material selection Product development Manufacturing feasibility Design for manufacturing Testing and certification Sustainability strategy Material performance Manufacturing troubleshooting Commercialization This is a technical and consultative responsibility rather than a traditional sales role. European Training & International Collaboration International collaboration is an important part of this position. The selected engineer should be comfortable spending approximately 1 to 2 months in Austria and Hungary during the initial development of the role. Blue Standard will cover reasonable and approved expenses associated with required international business travel. Following the initial training period, the engineer will maintain regular communication and technical collaboration with our European production and R&D teams. International travel will remain an ongoing component of the position as appropriate. U.S. Location & Future Relocation The position will initially be U.S.-based, with our U.S. production operation expected to be located in the North East Region / NY/NJ area. Who We're Looking For We are interested in engineers with backgrounds in: Plastics Engineering Polymer Engineering Materials Science or Materials Engineering Mechanical Engineering with significant plastics experience Chemical Engineering with significant polymer/process experience Manufacturing or Process Engineering focused on plastics Ideal candidates will have meaningful hands-on experience with injection molding and plastics processing . Experience in several of the following areas is strongly preferred: Injection molding process development Polymer and material behavior Mold and tooling development Process troubleshooting Manufacturing scale-up Production equipment commissioning Quality systems Design for manufacturing Material testing Product commercialization Sustainable or bio-based materials R&D and new-material development Technical documentation Regulatory or certification programs Most importantly, we are looking for someone who is technically curious, hands-on, comfortable working across disciplines, and interested in helping build—not simply operate—an advanced manufacturing organization. Compensation & Benefits Compensation will depend on experience and the scope of the final role. Expected base salary: $100,000–$160,000+ / based on experience The overall compensation package is expected to include: Competitive base salary Performance-based bonus opportunity Equity participation Employee benefits 15 days paid time off Company holidays 401(k) with 100% Company match up to 3% of salary , subject to plan terms Company-paid required international business travel Reasonable future relocation assistance Why Blue Standard? This is an opportunity to join Blue Standard at a point where an engineer can have a significant influence on how our technical and manufacturing organization is built. You will have the opportunity to work across: Material Science | R&D | Injection Molding | Manufacturing | Quality | Sustainability | Regulatory | Testing | University Research | Commercialization You will work directly with company leadership, production teams, researchers, external laboratories, customers, and international manufacturing partners. Blue Standard Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.