R&D Process Development Engineer

Summary

Location: Chicago, IL

Compensation

Competitive salary and equity package

Benefits include

• Family Health, Dental, Vision; Flexible PTO, FSA Benefits, 401K Savings Plan, Paid Parental Leave, and Long-term Disability Insurance
• Reports to: R&D Director

Position Overview

This is an early-career R&D role for an engineer who wants to learn how new materials become real products - by owning problems and solving them. You'll join our development group, working across both of our technology areas - fabrics and adsorbents - alongside the scientists and engineers building Numat's current and next-generation products.

The work is experimental at its core. You'll design and run experiments and DOEs that reduce product and process variability, work out how process settings and raw-material variation drive each product's critical quality attributes (CQAs), and help carry our technology from lab and pilot scale toward robust, repeatable processes ready for commercial production.

You'll work hands-on with our pilot and process equipment. Expect to design experiments, run the equipment, interpret the data, and build the technology transfer packages that carry your findings forward.

Responsibilities

You will work on a varied set of instrumentation/projects and have a diverse set of responsibilities including:

Design and run experiments that move the technology forward

• Plan, design, and execute experiments and DOEs that reduce product and process variability across fabrics and adsorbents.
• Develop and mature our processes from lab and pilot scale toward robust, repeatable commercial production; contribute to demonstration runs and process-capability assessment.
• Identify sources of variation, form and test hypotheses, and drive corrective and improvement actions.
• Analyze the data and turn it into clear conclusions - including how process settings and raw-material variation drive each product's critical quality attributes (CQAs): the few measurable properties that determine whether the product performs.
• Help define and hold the process windows and specifications that keep output consistent.
• Document processes and findings so they transfer cleanly out of R&D and into manufacturing.

Run the pilot line equipment

• Support running Numat's pilot processing equipment - the pilot spunbond and pilot meltblown nonwoven lines and the lamination machine - including setup, development runs, changeovers, and routine adjustments.
• Support producing in-house nonwoven and laminated material on this equipment for current- and next-generation development.
• Cut, prepare, and condition swatches and test articles to defined, repeatable methods.
• Run our in-house performance proxy test; capture, record, and report results cleanly.
• Perform small-scale lamination property testing, and prepare and support material for pilot and external production runs.

Manage samples, data, and inventory

• Prepare, document, and ship samples to external testing partners, and receive and reconcile samples coming back from external trials.
• Build and improve the workflows, data capture, and methods that make the group's development work faster and more repeatable.
• Enter test and run data accurately and on time so the engineers and technologists work from clean information.

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in chemical, materials, or mechanical engineering, or a related physical science; recent graduate or early-career (~0-5 years).
• R&D experience highly preferred - an internship, co-op, or industry role in a research & development or product/process development environment, where you designed experiments and learned from the results.
• Demonstrated self-direction - clear evidence you've owned something end to end (an internship or capstone project, something you built, a problem you chased without being told to).
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with a working foundation in statistics, DOE, or data analysis.
• Genuine interest in hands-on experimental work - comfortable on the floor around process equipment, not only at a desk.
• A clear communicator who documents and organizes work well, with good judgment about when to decide and when to ask.
• Ability to walk or stand for prolonged periods; ability to bend, stoop, reach and lift up to 50 pounds.
• Exposure to any of: nonwovens, textiles, membranes, lamination, or coating; or particle/granulation, chemical synthesis, or adsorbent materials.
• Familiarity with DOE / data-analysis tools (e.g., Minitab, JMP, Python).
• Willingness to travel occasionally to external production and testing partners.

Work Authorization

This position is not eligible for immigration support now or in the future, including filing employment-based visa petitions (e.g., H-1B, O-1, TN, E-3) or F-1 work authorization (including CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT extension), or permanent residence sponsorship.

Note: No Agencies

We at Numat are committed to compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences.