Head Of Research & Formulations

Head of Research – Natural Materials & Formulation Science

Location: Pune

Function: Research & Development

Reports to: Founder / CEO

At Zerocircle, we do not start with materials. We start with what the world throws away every day. Paper cups, food packaging, things designed for minutes of use and decades of impact. Our work is to replace what sits inside these products using natural compounds and water-based chemistry, without asking industry to change how it already operates. We are looking for a Head of Research who can turn this intent into materials that perform, scale, and disappear after use.

What you’ll do

- Lead formulation development: coatings, films, dispersions, binders - Deeply understand and manage pH, rheology, stability, colloids, emulsions, foaming, and ageing - Work hands-on with natural materials - polysaccharides, naturally-occurring-polymer marine and plant-derived compounds - Apply strong understanding of structure–property relationships in natural materials to tune: Barrier properties, adhesion and cohesion, mechanical strength and flexibility, stability, ageing, and migration behaviour - Translate lab formulations into pilot and commercial-scale systems - Solve real-world problems: variability in natural inputs, shelf life, line performance, adhesion, migration - Partner closely with manufacturing, technology, product, and supply chain teams - Engineer around natural raw material variability without defaulting to synthetic fixes - Set research direction, experimentation frameworks, and technical priorities

What we’re looking for

Must-have experience

- Strong background in Chemistry / Materials Science / Chemical Engineering - Proven experience in water-based formulation science - Hands-on 10-15 years of FMCG R&D experience (personal care, home care, coatings, food-contact materials, packaging) - Comfort working with natural materials and their inherent variability

This role is not for

- Pure synthetic or petrochemical polymer specialists - Profiles with only academic research exposure - Anyone looking for a hands-off or purely managerial role