Polymer Technology Specialist

Bekaert is a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies. We pursue to be the preferred supplier for our steel wire products and solutions by continuously delivering superior value to our customers worldwide. Bekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with more than 27 000 employees worldwide, headquarters in Belgium and € 4.4 billion in combined revenue in 2020.

Polymer Technology Specialist

Are you passionate about innovation & technology and like to work in multidisciplinary teams? Are you eager to have impact and bring ideas to reality? Then you could be the Polymer Technology Specialist we are looking for!

Company Introduction:

Bekaert is a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies. We pursue to be the preferred supplier for our steel wire products and solutions by continuously delivering superior value to our customers worldwide. Bekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with c.30 000 employees worldwide, headquarters in Belgium and € 4.4 billion in annual revenue.

In its forward-looking strategy, Bekaert is putting increased weight on digitalization, sustainability and innovation.

As part of the increased effort on innovation, we are looking to strengthen our Corporate Research & Innovation (R&I) Centre in Belgium and want to further build our capabilities in solutions beyond steel.

The Role:

We are therefore looking for a Polymer Technology Specialist to work in the Materials Solutions Centre. This central team works together with teams across the business units, the Corporate Innovation Team and the many colleagues of R&I and help to bring innovative new products and solutions to the market.

This role will be based primarily within the UK for the first 12 months, working on the development of emerging products and technologies for the fast-developing renewable sector in Floating Offshore Wind Turbines.

As Polymer Technology Specialist, you will bring strong expertise & a solid network to support our ‘beyond steel’ strategy, and will strengthen our team with your knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for technical polymers and fibre & resin composite materials including processing & applications.

Key Accountabilities

• You will lead polymer innovation projects for the Group, initially based out of the Technology Centre in Doncaster UK, and subsequently relocating to the Technology Center in Deerlijk, Belgium after the first 12 months.

• You will connect with and sometimes will work out of other Company locations & production sites globally across Bekaert, as part of co-creation activity with the teams in the technology center and various business units

• You are responsible for developing the long-term strategy beyond steel at Bekaert in line with the inputs from the BU’s.

• You will direct with a hands-on approach the research & development of new synthetic materials and products through to production

• You will monitor closely new developments in the external world (patent research, exhibitions,) that might have added value for Bekaert.

• You ideate and bring ideas for innovations, identifying external partners & universities to cooperate and innovate with.

• You help in translating customer needs into valued solutions for the business & the Group

• You will develop a network with relevant equipment and auxiliary material suppliers and contribute to the built up of competitive intelligence in the beyond steel domain.

Your profile:

• You have a Master degree in Materials Science and/or PhD in chemistry.
• You have 5-10 years of experience in a production and/or development environment.
• You have a sound working knowledge of polymer materials and characteristics to enable design and specification of material solutions
• You have knowledge of fibre technologies, extrusion / injection molding and drawing processes and their processing properties and characteristics.
• You have hands on experience in process development of polymer extrusion and drawing materials to specific parameters to achieve required properties and quality assurance
• You have experience with working with technology fibres, thermoplastic materials, and resin compounds such as Polyester; Polyamide; HMPE; Aramid; Vectran; Carbon;…
• You have experience in the design and specification of required capital equipment and tooling requirements.
• You have previous demonstrated experience of successfully managing innovation & development projects from conception to delivery, involving multiple stakeholders.
• You are a team player, with strong communication skills and can easily collaborate well with others at all levels both internally and externally.
• You have an entrepreneurial mindset and like to work independently.
• You have the ability to drive collaboration & cooperation across different functions and Business Units.
• You have a solid network in the synthetic fibres industry.
• You speak English fluently.
• You are willing to travel – Year 1 England (Doncaster UK); Year 2+ Belgium (Deerlijk) plus other Bekaert locations/production sites.

Interested?

Visit our website www.bekaert.com for more information on who we are and what we do.

If you are interested in applying for this exciting new role, please send your full CV and a covering letter to Rose Bashforth at BBRGHR.Shared@bridon-bekaert.com.