R&D Data Lead

Who are we?

Syntetica is an early-stage chemical startup on a mission to decarbonize the textile industry through textile-to-textile recycling — starting with nylon.

Today, most synthetic textiles are made from crude oil, and less than 1% are recycled back into new fibers. We're here to change that. At Syntetica, we’ve developed a patented depolymerization process that breaks down nylon-rich textile waste into virgin-equivalent nylon monomers — while separating materials like elastane, polyester, and cotton for further recycling.

Backed by Entrepreneur First, we’ve raised €4.2M from leading investors including EQT Ventures, the family offices of Peugeot and Etam, as well as high-profile athletes like Paul-Henri Mathieu and Jean-Éric Vergne.

We’ve already forged key partnerships with major textile players like Victoria’s Secret and ETAM — as well as leading fast fashion and sportswear brands — and have assembled a core team of 12 experts.

If you want to help bring truly circular materials to global scale — and solve one of the textile industry’s biggest sustainability challenges — come build with us.

Your role at Syntetica

As the R&D Data Lead, you will design and implement our data strategy related to our R&D product & process development — from lab-level measurement protocols to driving correlation and prediction insights. You will be the go-to person for how we capture, structure, and leverage data in the lab to support both process development and product development objectives, and play a critical role in accelerating R&D through data-informed decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Data Collection & Measurement

• Design and implement data collection protocols across lab experiments
• Ensure the right instrumentation and measurement tools (e.g., XRF, HPLC, GPC) are in place to capture the right data at the right moment
• Collaborate with technical and production teams to define critical experimental variables and outputs
• Lead characterization efforts with external labs and select technical partners for advanced analysis

Data Organisation & Infrastructure

• Build and maintain data tracking systems using Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable or equivalent tools
• Create structured data templates per protocol and experiment type
• Organise, clean, and standardise datasets for cross-experiment comparison and reproducibility
• Develop protocols for data hygiene and quality control

Data Analysis & Insight Generation

• Drive exploratory data analysis, trend identification, and correlation mapping on tools such as JMP, Minitab and/or directly with Python
• Support experimental planning by identifying predictive patterns and variables
• Build tools or frameworks to assist chemists and engineers in hypothesis generation and validation

Data Leadership

• Champion a data-first culture within the R&D team
• Provide internal training and documentation on data best practices and guide the long-term evolution of our lab and scale-up data architecture

What we're looking for

Background

• Master’s degree or plus in Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a related field from a top-tier university
• 3-5 years of experience in data-related roles within technical scientific environments (e.g. Product Performance, Data & Characterisation, Quality Control) in startups or fast-paced environments.

Skills:

• Data-driven & Analytical mindset: Data obsessed, including around collecting, analysing and connecting data with product performance
• Highly skilled in tools such as JMP, Minitab or in using Python and/or other relevant tools/languages
• Excellent & fluent communication skills in English & French
• A strong bias for action with high autonomy and the ability to drive others around you.
• Highly structured and process-driven

Why join Syntetica?

• Mission-driven company: Play a pivotal role in decarbonising one of the most polluting industries globally.
• World-class team: Collaborate with a group of 10 passionate and brilliant experts growing to 25 by the end of the year
• Cutting-edge technology: Syntetica is revolutionising nylon recycling with a unique chemical depolymerisation process, enabling the recycling of mixed textiles in a €35 billion global market.
• Hypergrowth startup: Following our €4.2M funding round, we plan to more than double our team within a year, including tripling our technical team.

Recruitment Process

1. Screening call with People Lead – 15 minutes.
2. "Who" interview with Marco, CEO – 45 mins
3. Business Case with Albert & Florian, COO - 1 hour
4. Culture fit interview with Louis, Co-Founder & CTO– 45 mins
5. Reference calls