PhD or equivalent technical depth in Chemistry, Materials Science, Polymer Science, Biochemistry or a related discipline; Significant industry R&D experience developing formulations or coatings from bench towards pilot scale; Deep expertise in controlled-release formulation/coating systems, ideally involving fertilisers, agricultural inputs or another relevant controlled-release application; Hands-on experience with fluid-bed coating or closely analogous coating processes; Strong understanding of film properties, coating integrity and dissolution/release kinetics; Experience working with biopolymers or polymer modification and characterisation; experience with esterification, degree-of-substitution control, NMR and titration is particularly relevant; Experience applying formal Design of Experiments (DoE) to multi-parameter formulation or coating optimisation, using tools such as JMP, Design-Expert, Minitab or R; Experience considering scale-up, manufacturability and cost-of-goods alongside technical performance; Experience with enzyme-substrate interactions and kinetics, microbial formulations, fertiliser coatings or other biological/chemical interfaces would be particularly valuable. Depending on expertise, you will: Define the fertiliser formulation and coating strategy and personally execute experimental work at the bench; Design and iterate coating systems based on release kinetics, biological performance, manufacturability and cost of goods; Take formulations from bench towards pilot scale, identifying the critical technical and scale-up risks along the way; Define product specifications that are technically robust and commercially viable; Design rigorous experiments and use DoE/data-driven approaches to optimise multi-parameter formulation systems; Establish the chemistry capability within a shared laboratory, including selecting equipment, reagents and experimental infrastructure; Identify patentable inventions and contribute to the development of the company's IP strategy; Represent the technology credibly with external technical partners, investors and the wider Ag Biotech community; As the team grows, help recruit, mentor and lead additional technical talent.