Join us short-term
Help our team learn to make good products from recycled plastic.
We are looking for people with practical skills in design, 3D printing, CNC routing, injection moulding or fabrication to spend a few weeks to a few months with us in Shariya, from early 2027.
What visitors do
The main job is to leave skills behind. Our team is new to this equipment, so we need people who will work alongside us and show us how. Depending on your skills, that could mean:
- setting up, calibrating and maintaining a machine;
- coaching our staff and trainer through real jobs, from design file to finished part;
- solving problems with recycled plastic, which varies from batch to batch;
- writing short step-by-step guides and safety checklists;
- helping develop first products and the training course for young women.
The workshop
The equipment you would work with
The Design Laboratory is a ground-floor workshop of about 155 m² in Shariya. It is equipped for samples and short runs in recycled HDPE and PP, not for bulk processing.
Trial versions and product samples. A second, low-cost printer is planned for training.
Fine-detail models and heat-resistant mould inserts.
Short runs in recycled HDPE and PP, using 3D-printed inserts.
Cutting, engraving and carving recycled sheet and bar; also timber.
Joining, bending and shaping sheet into finished pieces.
Preparing collected plastic and checking each batch.
Process
How a product gets made
Every product starts as a digital design, so it can be changed quickly and made in small numbers first. Select a step to see what happens there, the equipment, and who does it.
Steps 1–4 and 6–7 apply to every product. At step 5 a product takes one of four production routes, sometimes two. Swipe sideways to see all the steps.
People
The roles
Six kinds of skill cover the work. In a small workshop one person often covers two or three of them, so you do not need to fit one role exactly. Each role can be copied as a job description.
What should we make, for whom, and how should it look and work? A product designer answers this.
A CAD modeller turns the design into an exact 3D file that a machine can follow.
Technicians get good results from the printers, moulder and CNC router; a fabricator makes products by hand.
Products
Example products
The kinds of product we plan to design and test, and the roles each would need. Select a role to read its description.
These are examples to show the skills involved. Our product list will develop through market testing in 2027–2028.
Practical details
What a visit involves
Some arrangements are still being settled with STLI. When you get in touch, we will explain the current position for your dates and nationality.
- When
- From early 2027, once the equipment is installed. The first half of 2027 matters most: our team is learning the machines before the first trainees arrive in September.
- Length of stay
- A few weeks to a few months.
- Working pattern
- Workshop sessions in the mornings, five days a week.
- Costs, accommodation and visas
- Being settled. Visitors to the Kurdistan Region need a visa arranged before travel; we will advise on the right route.
- Language
- English, with Kurdish interpreting where needed.
- Safety
- The work involves heat, resin, dust and cutting tools. We follow written safety procedures, and visitors help us improve them.
Interested?
Email us. Please tell us:
- which roles fit you;
- what you have made or taught before;
- when you might be free, and for how long.