Role: Biomaterial Production & Research Intern

What do we do at Arda?

We create biomaterials from waste feedstocks, and we’ve started with creating a leather-like material made from beer… well, actually we’re using the waste from the beer-brewing process, so don’t worry your beer is safe! Normally this waste, called brewers’ spent grain, is fed to cows and pigs. However, instead of exploiting animals and tanning their hides, we’re able to skip cows altogether and craft a novel, plant-based, and plastic-free material directly.

Why?

Because leather isn’t a by-product; it’s a co-product that subsidises one of the most polluting industries on the planet — industrial animal agriculture, which is responsible for over 14% of global CO2 emissions. Furthermore, many leather tanneries use toxic chemicals that are extremely harmful to local ecosystems.

Unfortunately, current leather alternatives are riddled with plastic, contributing to landfill and micro-plastic pollution. The market for leather alternatives is rapidly expanding and is projected to hit $100 Billion by 2030. Industries such as fashion, automotive, and home upholstery are looking for non-plastic alternatives; but they just can’t find any that are affordable or at scale! (Here’s where we come in.)

How?

We take the waste grain and then a bit of protein manipulation, a bit of chemistry, a bit of material science, and we’ve invented a new material to take on leather… (we’ll get into the details later).

Why do we need your help?

We are looking for a production & research intern to join the Arda team and help across various parts of R&D and material fabrication. This will involve working with the production team, who are responsible for grain collection, extraction, and processing, in addition to material fabrication. As well as the R&D team who are working across everything from material properties, aesthetics, QC, and other exciting projects. This role is quite broad; we have a lot going on.

Candidates will be joining an expanding team (15 and counting), working at the intersection of the production, R&D, and engineering. The role will involve diving into the field of valorisation, natural feedstock extractions, and novel biomaterials.

Responsibilities will include:

• Working with the production team for protein extraction (a bit like a brewer)
• Conducting quality control & analytical tests on the protein batches
• Visiting local breweries for grain pick-up
• Working with the R&D team to streamline & optimise extraction conditions
• Helping in the production and finishing of sheets of material
• Testing & characterising biomaterials

Who you are:

More than anything we want to find great people to work with, especially those who share our vision of sustainability. If all of the above sounds interesting to you, then please get in touch. However, there are some important things an ideal candidate would have:

• Recent graduate (within 2 years.) or studying towards a Degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Design Engineering or other relevant subject.
• Computer literate in standard MS office and G Suite tools.
• A hands on problem solver.
• Enthusiastic and quick to pick up new techniques
• Happy to work in a start-up environment in Bermondsey

What we offer in return:

• Freedom to develop new ideas
• Flexible working hours
• Opportunities for professional development (learn how a start-up operates)
• ~£2065 per month (or adjusted depending on agreement)
• Full Time or Part Time

Location: 64-66 Gedling Place, Bermondsey, London UK.

How to apply:

To apply, fill out this Google Docs Form (https://forms.gle/pwUqtZ3hXbk9jYc99). We will then be in touch for the next steps.

Start & duration:

The role starts in August/early September 2026, and is for a duration of 4-12 months.

A bit about us and our journey:

We are a start-up based in Bermondsey, London developing biomaterials for the circular economy. Funnily enough, Bermondsey is home to the famous ‘Beer Mile’, and even more so, Bermondsey is the historic leather tanning district of London — and here we are transforming brewery waste into an alternative leather. Our old lab was in the aptly named leather market, now we’ve built a 500m2 lab, office, and production facility along the beer mile itself. We’ve had a very serendipitous and coincidental path, and we’re thrilled to be building Arda.

Arda was founded in the summer of 2022, following some (odd looking) prototyping in the founder’s kitchens. Since, Arda has gone on to raise a pre-seed round of £1.1M (2023) and a seed round of £4M (2025) enabling the founders to build a bespoke lab, onboard a great team, and start working with some of the biggest names in fashion and brewing.

Our take on diversity:

Arda is for everyone. We’re an equal-opportunity employer. We will consider all applications equally regardless of a person’s race, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, background, marital status, disability, or gender identity. Moreover, we actively encourage individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in the biomaterials space to reach out.