---
title: 'Cellsense - Materials Scientist at 43North'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/cellsense-materials-scientist-43north-new-york-j3pn91zsxwkh'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Cellsense - Materials Scientist at 43North

- **Company:** 43North
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Compensation:** $85k–$120k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-02-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/43north/am9icG9zdDp2U8cvQ9550iTcLZCL3eZM

## Job description

About Cellsense:

Cellsense transforms algae and cellulose into sustainable embellishments and beaded fabrics for the fashion, jewelry, and beauty industries. Our proprietary material replaces sources of microplastics and heavy metal pollution while offering designers a wide range of brilliant colors, clarities, and properties such as fluorescence. Our manufacturing system cuts lead time for customized beaded products from weeks to days by eliminating expensive tooling and tedious manual labor. Cellsense is VC-backed, and we are currently scaling our process while running paid pilots with industry partners, with inbound interest from 55+ companies. You would be joining at a particularly exciting stage of growth.

The Role:

We're looking for a Materials Scientist to lead formulation and chemistry development at Cellsense as we scale. You'll work across our biopolymer systems to improve material clarity, surface finish, durability, and processing behavior, and support the transition of formulations from lab to manufacturing.

As a key member of a small, collaborative team, you'll work closely with our founder, engineering team, and technical advisors. This role offers meaningful ownership and direct impact on the development and deployment of Cellsense's next-generation materials.

Responsibilities:

- Design and iterate on biopolymer formulations to support Cellsense's scale-up.
- Apply DOE to evaluate fillers, plasticizers, crosslinking chemistry, and drying conditions against defined aesthetic and performance targets.
- Optimize rheology for automated material deposition and film formation.
- Develop practical methods to characterize dimensional stability, mechanical performance, and wet/thermal stability.
- Convert validated formulations into reproducible batch procedures, material specifications, and QA/QC standards.
- Work closely with our founder and mechanical engineer to scale formulations into repeatable production

What We’re Looking For:

- MS or PhD in Materials Science, Polymer Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field with 2+ years of industry experience; candidates with a BS and 3 to 5 years of relevant industry experience are also welcome.
- Hands-on formulation experience with polymers, hydrogels, or composites, not just characterization: you have blended, modified, and scaled materials yourself, with a record of taking projects from concept to completion.
- Working knowledge of biopolymers, crosslinking mechanisms, and phase behavior.
- Ability to design and execute experiments, analyze data, and document methods for reproducibility and scale-up; strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Self-motivated problem solver who thrives in a startup environment and works effectively across disciplines.
- Proactive and collaborative communicator who is excited to see work move from lab to real products and contribute to Cellsense's mission.

What We Offer:

- $85k - $120k Salary + equity
- Health insurance and benefits
- Opportunity to work on meaningful environmental impact as part of a tightly knit team
- Ownership of formulation and chemistry development
- Travel: 10-15% (domestic)
- Job Type: Full-time, on-site

Apply:

- If you’re action-oriented and thrive in a startup environment, we’d love to hear from you. Apply to this link and also send your resume and a note on why you’re excited about scaling bio-materials to hiring@cellsense.bio.

## About 43North

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: 43North is a nonprofit organization that runs an annual startup competition and accelerator in Buffalo, NY, investing $5 million each year in high-growth companies to build the local tech ecosystem.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Nonprofit)
- **Headquarters**: Buffalo, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Startup ecosystem development, venture capital / accelerator, talent placement
- **Target customers**: Seed-stage startups (B2B), investors, job seekers looking to work at startups in Buffalo
- **Mission or purpose**: To help founders grow their companies, create jobs, attract capital, and contribute to Buffalo’s growing startup ecosystem

## Products & Services
- **43North Competition**: Annual startup competition awarding $5 million in funding to high-growth companies selected through a rigorous application process. Includes an immersive accelerator program.
- **43North Compass**: A job board and talent network that connects candidates with open roles at 43North portfolio companies and other Buffalo startups. Also allows recruiters to search a database of thousands of pre-vetted startup candidates.
- **Investor Network**: A network connecting portfolio companies with venture capital firms and angel investors, including co-investors like Bessemer, Iconiq Capital, and Rise of the Rest.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not applicable (nonprofit)
- **Key Metric**: Annual revenue of ~$2.8M (per LinkedIn). Total funding awarded to portfolio companies since 2014: $51.5M. Portfolio companies have raised over $1B in total investment and created 3,000+ jobs globally (over 1,000 in Buffalo). 12 exits (11 acquisitions, 1 IPO). (Source: LinkedIn)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Empire State Development (primary funder), Bessemer Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital, Rise of the Rest. Community partners include Larkin Square and various Buffalo-based organizations.
- **Growth Signals**: Despite the accelerator concluding in 2027 (final competition year 2026), the newly formed 43North Foundation plans to invest $100 million over the next 10 years to continue strengthening Buffalo’s startup ecosystem. 60% of portfolio companies maintain a presence in Western New York. (Source: LinkedIn)

## Competitive Advantages
- Unique as a nonprofit that combines a grant/equity competition with an accelerator, talent marketplace, and investor network.
- Deeply rooted in Buffalo, leveraging state funding and community partnerships to create a self-reinforcing ecosystem.
- Proven track record: 79 companies funded, $1B+ raised, 12 exits, and established salary premium (average portfolio company salary ~$90k, $30k above regional average).
- Access to a curated talent pool (4,000+ candidates in Compass network) that understands startup culture.

## Strategic Focus
- 2026 is the final year of the 43North competition. The organization is now transitioning to the 43North Foundation, which will deploy $100M over the next decade to support Buffalo’s startup ecosystem through grants, programming, and ecosystem building.
- Continued emphasis on filling high-impact roles at portfolio companies via Compass and growing the local talent pipeline.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission**: Directly contribute to building a thriving startup hub in Buffalo, with visible community impact.
- **Culture**: Small, passionate team of ~26 employees. Strong sense of purpose and collaboration. Team members include former founders, investors, and ecosystem builders.
- **Work Environment**: Based in downtown Buffalo at 1 W Seneca St. Hybrid/remote policy is not specified, but the team appears to be largely in-office or Buffalo-based. LinkedIn shows 26 employees all in the U.S.
- **Compensation**: Portfolio company roles average ~$90k salary, significantly above the regional average. For the 43North team itself, specific perks are not publicly detailed.
- **Growth**: Opportunity to work across investments, platform, talent, and marketing while directly influencing the success of dozens of startups.
- **Job Seekers**: The Compass job board lists openings at portfolio companies (e.g., Customer Experience Analyst, Director of Data Engineering, Account Manager, Electrical Engineer). These roles give access to high-growth startups with established traction and funding.

## Sources
1. [43north.org](https://43north.org/who-we-are/careers/) – Career page describing 43North Compass and talent network
2. [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/43north) – Company overview, financials, recent news, impact metrics, and team size
3. [43north.org](https://43north.org/who-we-are/team-and-board/) – Leadership team and roles (Nicole Camarre, Colleen Heidinger, etc.)
4. [jobs.43north.org](https://jobs.43north.org/jobs) – Job board for portfolio companies (featured roles, hiring rounds)

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