Product Development Engineer

Newcastle upon Tyne

3 months ago

Applications closed

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Product Development – Mechanical (Hydraulics & Pressure Systems)

Product Development Lead / Technical Lead (Packaging – Film)

Research & Development Manager

Senior Design Engineer

Business Development Lead

Design Engineer

Job Title: Product Development Engineer

Department: R&D / Product Development

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Role Description

We are seeking a Materials Engineer to lead the technical development, testing, and quality assurance of our product. This role will support the creation of a robust, scientifically driven product specification, ensuring material performance is understood, consistent, and optimised for various pipeline applications. The successful candidate will be instrumental in establishing rigorous test regimes, refining material formulations, and defining acceptance criteria to achieve product conformity and reliability at scale.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development & Characterisation

Develop a detailed understanding of the current material composition, behaviour, and performance boundaries.
Characterise raw materials and blends, including particle size distribution, mineralogy, composition, purity, moisture content, density, and other relevant parameters.
Support formulation refinement and optimisation for different pipeline conditions, defects, pressures, and pipe materials.
Work closely with external labs (e.g., EDAX/XRD/ESEM providers) to define test scopes and interpret results.

Testing & Scientific Method
Design and execute laboratory-scale test programmes to assess material performance under varied mechanical, chemical, and environmental conditions (e.g., fatigue, pressure cycling, temperature cycles, erosion, accelerated ageing).
Support design of large-scale trials to validate lab findings and correlate with field performance.
Develop and document a formal scientific methodology for assessing the capabilities and limits of the product.

Quality Assurance Framework
Establish QC processes for day-to-day product acceptance, including clear tolerance ranges for particle size distribution, composition, moisture content, impurities, and density.
Develop inspection protocols for consistency between manufacturing batches.
Work with suppliers to understand and audit the manufacturing process (milling, sieving, blending methods, impurity levels, etc.).
Support implementation of material CoAs and ensure alignment with business acceptance criteria.

Documentation & Reporting
Produce technical reports, material specifications, QC manuals, and test plans.
Maintain detailed records of formulations, batch performance, and testing outcomes.

Essential Skills & Qualifications
Degree in Materials Science/Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field (MSc or PhD ideal).
Experience with analytical tools such as XRD, SEM, EDAX/EDS, TGA, FTIR, or similar.
Knowledge of mechanical testing and equipment (fatigue, pressure cycling, thermal testing, erosion).
Experience working on R&D projects, ideally involving material formulation, characterisation, or product development.
Experience setting up or managing QA/QC processes.
Strong analytical mindset and ability to design and execute scientific test programmes.
Excellent technical writing and communication skills

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Feb 12, 2026

Careers

How Many Materials Science Tools Do You Need to Know to Get a Materials Science Job?

If you’re navigating the materials science job market, it can feel like the list of tools, techniques and platforms you should learn grows every week. One job advert mentions electron microscopy, another mentions X-ray diffraction, yet another wants experience with thermal analysis, spectroscopy, simulation software, statistical packages, manufacturing QA systems and more. With so many specialised methods and instruments, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed — and to start thinking you need to know everything just to be considered. Here’s the honest truth most materials science hiring managers won’t tell you directly: 👉 They don’t hire you because you know every piece of equipment or software. They hire you because you can use the tools you do know to answer real questions, make reliable measurements and communicate results clearly. Tools are essential — no question — but they are secondary to problem-solving ability, scientific reasoning and experimental rigour. So the real question is: how many materials science tools do you actually need to know to get a job? The precise number depends on the role you want, but for most job seekers the answer is far fewer than you think. This article breaks down what employers really value, which tools are core, which are role-specific, and how to focus your learning so your CV and interviews stand out for the right reasons.

Feb 3, 2026

Jobs

What Hiring Managers Look for First in Materials Science Job Applications (UK Guide)

Materials science is a broad, interdisciplinary field that spans academia, industry, research, engineering and manufacturing. Whether you’re applying for roles in R&D, process development, quality assurance, failure analysis, nanomaterials or product scale-up, hiring managers make key decisions within the first few seconds of scanning your application. In competitive job markets, simply listing skills or qualifications isn’t enough. Hiring managers are looking for signals of relevance, technical depth, problem-solving capability and real-world impact — and they expect those signals to be clear right from the top of your CV or portfolio. This guide breaks down exactly what hiring managers typically look for first in materials science applications, why they look for it, and how you can optimise your CV, cover letter and portfolio so your application stands out and gets past the first filter.

Jan 24, 2026

Education

The Skills Gap in Materials Science Jobs: What Universities Aren’t Teaching

Materials science sits at the heart of innovation — from sustainable energy and advanced manufacturing to aerospace, electronics, healthcare and beyond. It is an interdisciplinary field combining physics, chemistry, engineering and applied science to design and improve materials that power modern technology. Despite the clear strategic importance of materials science, employers across the UK report persistent challenges hiring graduates who are truly job-ready. Organisations need professionals who can contribute immediately to research, development, manufacturing, quality control and product scale-up — yet many recent graduates struggle to bridge the gap between academic preparation and workplace demands. This gap is not caused by a lack of intelligence or enthusiasm. It is a growing skills gap between what universities teach and what real materials science jobs require. This article explores the materials science skills gap in depth: what universities teach well, what they often miss, why the gap exists, what employers want, and how aspiring professionals can bridge the divide to build successful careers in this vital UK industry.