190 entry-level polymer roles just opened

22% of this week's 863 new roles are open to early-career scientists. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
Crosslinked
Crosslinked
Weekly Digest · Issue No. 20 · October 23, 2026

Only 49 percent of this week's 863 new materials jobs list a salary, while 190 of those roles are entry level. The 536 companies posting include a 22 percent entry-level share.

This week in the field
Sherwin-Williams is hiring faster. 38 in Sep, 24 in May.
SpaceX is staffing a new facility in Bastrop. 14 roles flagged for the new site.
Avient Corporation is hiring faster. 31 in Sep, 23 in May.

The Story This Week

A genuinely good week to be early-career. Standouts:

Polymer Development Chemist / Engineer
ATSP Innovations | Waller, TX ($60K-$70K)
Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
California State University San Marcos | San Marcos, CA ($98K-$113K)
Entry-Level Fabrication Specialist
Boeing | Mesa, AZ ($41K-$56K)
863
New Jobs
536
Companies
49%
Post Salary
$76-114K
Median Range

Readers opened 3,563 roles 5,502 times this week and logged 65 applications. Most opened: Director/Sr Director, Long-Acting Injectable & Bio-Nano Interface Characterization at Eli Lilly and Company.

Movers vs last week
▲ Fibers/textiles +10▼ Thermoplastics -58▼ Composites -45▼ Coatings/films -43

Top Pick This Week

$62K-$62K listed · PhD-level · H-1B sponsor
Postdoctoral Research Associate - Sustainable & Circular Polymer Materials
Washington State University | Pullman, WA | $62K-$62K
Synthesize and characterize biobased and recycled polymer systems and develop chemical recycling routes for polyesters and thermoset composites.
View Role

Quick Picks

Lead Metallic Materials Application Engineer
GE Aerospace | Evendale, OH ($112K-$149K)
Quality Technician II, Metallurgical(1st Shift)
Howmet Aerospace | Carson, CA ($49K-$61K)
Senior Sales Specialist
Dow | Marietta, GA

The Equity Club

144 roles this week offer equity or stock compensation. Not just for software engineers.

Senior Sales Specialist
Dow | Marietta, GA
2027 Materials and Process Engineering Intern - San Diego CA
Northrop Grumman | San Diego, CA ($44K-$99K)
Senior Associate Packaging Engineer
Mammoth Brands | New York, NY ($90K-$114K)

What You Would Be Making

What are employers actually building? The top application areas this week:

The Unicorn

Out of 863 postings this week, exactly one asks for Chemical And Biological Measurement And Characterization Techniques. If that's you, this role has your name on it:

Post Bachelors RA - Materials Scientist
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | Richland, WA ($57K-$74K)
One thing you might not know

My jobs keeps your saved roles, applications and notes together, and two weeks after you apply we ask whether they replied. Show me

Supported by

This week's digest is supported by readers like you. Hiring? Reach this audience.

Browse All 863 Jobs

That's the market this week. Looking for something specific, or spot a job we missed? Write to [email protected]; a person reads every response.

Brenden, Crosslinked

P.S. Be like PTFE: let rejections slide off. Low surface energy is a career skill.

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