Director RD&E

Ecolab • Naperville, IL

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The RD&E Director – Core Water Technologies leads a team of researchers focused on developing differentiated water treatment chemistries, systems, and programs used across the global water sector. This role sets the strategic technical direction for core product platforms, builds a robust innovation pipeline, and ensures technologies translate into scalable and cost-effective commercial offerings that deliver outsized value to our customers. The role is based at the Naperville, IL Campus. The Director operates both strategically and tactically, partnering closely with Divisional RD&E, Marketing, Regulatory, Supply Chain, and key customers to identify unmet needs, validate total value delivered, protect intellectual property, and accelerate commercialization. The role is accountable for talent development, portfolio governance, and delivering measurable business impact through technology deployment. This position reports to the VP, Industrial Anchors.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Environmental Engineering, Microbiology, or related discipline
• 10+ years of progressive experience in product development and/or applied research, including formulation and performance evaluation
• 5+ years of people leadership experience managing scientists/researchers, with demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and retain top technical talent
• Proven track record of delivering innovations to market, including translating research into scalable manufacturing and field-deployable solutions
• Experience partnering cross-functionally and influencing senior stakeholders; strong written and verbal communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated ability to build and execute multi-year technology roadmaps and manage a balanced portfolio under resource constraints
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally (up to ~20%)

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or PhD preferred

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead the multi-year technology strategy and innovation roadmap for core water treatment platforms (e.g., scale & corrosion control, microbiological control, liquid/solid separations, and sensing/automation-enabled programs)
• Collaborate with divisional and international RD&E leaders to identify industry/region-specific customer needs and coordinate with them on project execution
• Lead a team of researchers and scientists; set clear objectives, develop capabilities, and build succession plans while fostering a strong safety, innovation, and quality culture
• Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Sales, Regulatory, and Supply Chain to ensure customer value, regulatory compliance, manufacturability, and competitive cost position
• Drive intellectual property strategy and maintain freedom-to-operate awareness in partnership with Legal
• Lead portfolio governance by prioritizing projects, allocating resources, managing budgets, and tracking value delivery

Benefits

• Ecolab strives to provide comprehensive and market-competitive benefits to meet the needs of our associates and their families.
• This position is eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentives based on performance, per plan terms.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees