Product Technologist

Chilly’s are on the look-out for an experienced and high performing Product Technologist. This position is within our Operations team to support our ambitious product development pipeline.

Founded in 2010, Chilly’s are driven by their aim of providing people with the ability to always have cold water on-the-go, without having to buy single-use plastic water bottles. The result was the Chilly’s bottle, a modern and stylish product designed to combine the convenience of a plastic water bottle with the eco-friendly benefits of a traditional flask.

In pursuit of our mission to accelerate the adoption and everyday use of reusable products we have now expanded the range to include a wider selection of reusable products with many more exciting products in development! Our products are created for an active urban lifestyle, with the perfect balance of distinctive style and unrivalled performance.

Chilly’s are at an exciting stage of change and growth, and are looking for energetic, forward thinking and positive individuals to join their team.

As a Product Technologist at Chilly’s you will be working closely with the design team and our suppliers to create our next line of exciting products. You will be required to oversee the product quality process to ensure that all products are safe, legal and fit for purpose as well as ensuring all products fit Chilly’s quality, safety and functional standards.

You will find solutions to the daily challenges that the team juggle, ensuring you provide overall support to this highly credible team that is central to delivering the Chilly’s mission.

The Role

This is a full time position. We have a fantastic London office in Shoreditch. We believe in flexibility and value collaboration, and we are all currently working in a hybrid pattern, working 2 to 3 days per week in the office (and more on the rare occasions we need to) and the rest of our week remotely.

What you’ll be working on:

This role will be responsible for running our product quality function, ensuring product reliability and supplier compliance. The role will work closely with our product Team and Suppliers to advise on all quality and compliance for new and existing products.

The role would therefore suit a hands-on self-starter who is happy to work both independently and as part of the wider team.

New Product Development:

• Work with manufacturing and supply teams on all issues and problems of a technical nature, driving these to full root cause with sustainable corrective actions in place.

• Provide technical feedback to Product Design Lead.
• Provide technical support during the quotation stage.
• Provide insights on material selection to ensure the most suitable materials are chosen for the product’s requirements and function. A good knowledge of grades of plastics and metals will be essential.
• Review and test prototypes prior to tooling.
• Review and test samples at each tooling stage, providing feedback to the Suppliers and Product Design Lead.
• Sign-off pre-production samples ready for pilot production run.
• Review and test samples taken from pilot production run, ensuring there is no significant difference when compared with the approved pre-production sample.
• Manage the Gold Seal process by signing off the final samples taken from mass production
• Review first draft packaging copy document and advise Care & Use and Warnings
• Review further iterations of packaging copy before sent for translations

Supplier Compliance

• Set up and manage the supplier factory compliance audits and ongoing monitoring
• Work with sourcing team when identifying new suppliers to ensure that all compliance processes are set up at the outset

Laboratory Testing:

• Plan and arrange lab testing for all markets, managing lab samples to be sent to the laboratory and logging and managing all results and communications to factories.
• Issuing test reports and declarations to facilitate shipments.

Technical & Regulatory Documentation:

• Create Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) for all products, including bespoke and spare parts.
• Build and maintain Technical File for each product
• Generate EU “Declaration of Conformity” for applicable products
• Manage and maintain records for all products and packaging in accordance with EU REACH regulations - toxic and hazardous chemicals

Aftercare:

• Work with suppliers and customer service teams to resolve on-going quality issues with new and existing products.
• Analyse product reviews and complaints data for on-going product improvements.
• Carry out store, supplier and warehouse visits to review product quality issues.

Regulatory Knowledge:

• Develop and maintain an in-depth understanding of worldwide product safety regulations and standards affecting products.
• Keep abreast of any changes to applicable regulations and product standards. Significant changes which may affect the compliance of current or future products should be highlighted to the necessary stakeholders.

Requirements

Must haves:

• Strong experience gained from working in a quality based role ideally within a home/food product company.
• A solid understanding of industry standards and regulations, such as British and European Standards.
• A good understanding of test standards and testing methods applicable to our products.
• Good knowledge of different plastics, and metal grades and their various manufacturing processes. An understanding of general plastics injection moulding tooling would be an advantage
• Confident in setting up and running internal product testing and then reporting back with actionable findings.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to make confident decisions based upon the information and data being presented.
• A good problem-solving mindset, being solutions-driven and the ability to investigate problems to find the root cause.
• A good understanding, both internally and externally, of customer service and customer needs and expectations.

The type of person we’d love to work with:

At Chilly’s, we’re united by a set of values that guide our unique way of working.

They are:

Lead the Change

To lead the change we must never settle. It means being brave enough to set standards and, as leaders, ambitious enough to exceed them.

Less but Better

We work deliberately and decisively, focusing on what we believe in and being brave enough to say no to the things we don’t.

Ambitiously Collaborate

We care as much about each other’s contribution as we do our own, so we support one another to grow, and we turn to one another to learn.

This is a unique opportunity to join a top 10 Sunday Times Fast Track listed company in a critical leadership role.

Benefits

What we offer:

• Holiday: 26 days including a day off for your birthday + festive day off and seasonal early finishes
• Pension contribution
• Bupa cash plan and Bupa healthcare
• Life Insurance and Income Protection with YuLife
• Employee discounts on all Chilly’s products
• A range of benefits, discounts and deals through our ‘perks at work’ initiatives
• Development offering and careers progression framework to support you and your team's growth with Chilly’s
• Flexible working culture
• Physical, mental and financial wellbeing support