R&D Process Development Engineer
Position Overview
The R&D Process Development Engineer role is aimed at early-career professionals eager to understand how innovative materials transform into market-ready products. Reporting to the R&D Director, this role involves working across Numat's technology areas—fabrics and adsorbents—to develop and mature processes from laboratory to industrial scales.
Responsibilities
Design and run experiments that advance the technology, focusing on reducing product and process variability across fabrics and adsorbents.
Develop and mature processes from lab and pilot scale toward robust, repeatable commercial production; contribute to demonstration runs and process capability assessments.
Identify sources of variation, form and test hypotheses, and drive corrective and improvement actions.
Analyze data to derive clear conclusions, including how process settings and raw-material variation influence critical quality attributes (CQAs).
Define and maintain process windows and specifications to ensure consistent output.
Document processes and findings to facilitate seamless transition from R&D to manufacturing.
Support running Numat's pilot processing equipment, including setup, development runs, changeovers, and routine adjustments.
Prepare, document, and ship samples to external testing partners, and manage sample data and inventory.
Enter test and run data accurately and on time to support engineers and technologists.
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—internships, co-ops, or roles in research & development or product/process development environments where you designed experiments and learned from results.
Demonstrated self-direction—clear evidence of owning projects end-to-end (e.g., internships, capstone projects, built systems, solved problems).
Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with a foundational understanding of statistics, DOE, or data analysis.
Genuine interest in hands-on experimental work—comfortable around process equipment, not just at a desk.
Clear communication and organizational skills, with good judgment about decision-making and seeking assistance when needed.
Ability to work for extended periods standing, bending, stooping, reaching, and lifting up to 50 pounds.
Exposure to 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.