Quality Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 2, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 23, 2026.
About the Job
Quality Engineer
London, N4, expect regular travel to our manufacturing partners in Europe and Asia
4 days in our office, 1 day working from home
Reporting to our Quality Manager
£40-50K + equity
About Shellworks
Our vision is a world where the products around you don't damage our environment or our health. At Shellworks we're making that a reality by creating high performance plastic-free materials for everyday products.
Our technology Vivomer makes the impossible possible. It's grown by bacteria using fermentation, creating a material that is stable in use but degrades in every environment. Its breakthrough is being dishwasherable and home compostable at the same time.
We've closed our Series A and are working with some of the world's most recognised brands to replace plastic at volume. We're at an inflection point: scaling from proof-of-concept to mass-market production.
The Role
This is a hands on quality role. You'll make sure every part we ship meets spec, working across our materials, design and manufacturing teams and on factory floors with our partners.
Vivomer is a new material going into products that have to perform like plastic: on shelf, in transit, in the dishwasher and in the hands of consumers. Our customers are some of the world's biggest brands, and they need to trust that every part we ship meets spec.
We're looking for someone who has done quality engineering at a high volume manufacturer and wants to help build it at Shellworks from the ground up. You have an eye for detail and a pragmatic view of which checks really matter.
Where the focus is today
Making sure every Vivomer part meets spec, at volume.
Quality engineering
Translate product requirements into test plans and quality plans
Design in line testing and aesthetic standards with our partners so every part is validated before it ships
Run measurement system analysis, capability studies and SPC on new and running products
Review our existing checks regularly: cut the ones that don't add value and add the ones that are missing
Supplier quality
Support audits and qualification of new manufacturing partners
Run process qualification for new tools and products at our partners
Track partner performance and drive corrective actions to closure
Day to day quality
Run incoming inspection and traceability
Inspect parts and raise NCRs when they're not up to standard, and decide on rework or rejection
Train and support the inspectors and technicians at our partners who run the checks we define
Lead root cause analysis on line issues and customer complaints, and fix them for good
Beyond
Work with our Quality Manager to select and roll out our quality management system as we scale into production
Help build our quality procedures, documentation and change control, without the bureaucracy
Who you are
3 to 5 years in quality engineering, ideally at a high volume consumer hardware or packaging manufacturer
A degree in materials, polymers, mechanical engineering or similar
You've run quality processes on production lines and taken a product from design through to mature production
Hands on with metrology, GD&T, SPC, MSA and capability studies
You've worked with suppliers on the factory floor and know what good looks like
A structured problem solver: 8D, 5 whys, fishbone
You understand how a material's behaviour shows up in a finished part
Excited to build the frontier of how materials are made
High tolerance for ambiguity, low tolerance for bureaucracy
What We Offer
28 days holiday + statutory holidays
12 weeks maternity, 6 weeks paternity, both at full pay
Heka wellbeing allowance: gym, therapy, nutrition, fertility support and more
Virtual GP with same or next day appointments
Cycle to work scheme: save up to 42% via salary sacrifice
Daily catered lunch at the office