Director, Research & Development - Aerosol

Voyant Beauty•Elkhart, IN

About The Position

The Director, R&D Aerosol provides enterprise leadership, technical direction, and process governance for Voyant Aerosol Development, with an immediate focus on eliminating the cost of nonquality in Voyant aerosol plants, specifically Gainesville, Georgia. This role establishes robust development and commercialization practices that prevent defects, reduce avoidable failure and rework, and improve right-first-time performance. The Director coaches Aerosol R&D leaders and teams, identifies and implements process improvements, and guides projects from inception through commercialization. The Director assesses formulation, package, process, quality, safety, regulatory, scale-up, and execution risk, then ensures effective mitigation, learning, and decision-making through the first three production runs. The Senior Manager, R&D in Elkhart reports directly to this role.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Packaging Engineering, or a related scientific or engineering discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
7-9 years Aerosol product and process development, including scale-up and commercialization in a regulated consumer products or related manufacturing environment.
7-9 years Leadership experience: Leadership of technical teams and people leaders across complex portfolios or multiple locations.
7-9 years Technical governance: Risk assessment, technical reviews, structured problem solving, process improvement, and manufacturing transfer.
7-9 years Cross-functional partnership: Operations, Quality, Engineering, Regulatory, Safety, Supply Chain, Commercial teams, and customers.
Deep knowledge of aerosol development principles, components, formulation-package compatibility, filling processes, scale-up, and manufacturing controls. (High proficiency)
Risk-based decision making and ability to distinguish critical technical risks from routine execution issues. (High proficiency)
Practical command of continuous improvement, design of experiments, root cause analysis, data interpretation, and change leadership. (High proficiency)
Ability to translate technical complexity into clear decisions, priorities, and executive-level communication. (High proficiency)
Ability to coach senior technical talent, establish standards, and influence across functions without relying solely on authority. (High proficiency)
Business acumen and customer orientation, balancing innovation, speed, cost, quality, safety, and manufacturability. (High proficiency)
Ability to establish and use cost-of-nonquality data, defect themes, deviations, rework, scrap, holds, complaints, and launch learning to prioritize improvements. (High proficiency)
Knowledge of regulatory and safety requirements applicable to aerosol development and manufacturing. (High proficiency)
Proficiency with common business software for technical data analysis, reporting, and executive communication. (Medium proficiency)

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree Relevant scientific, engineering, or business discipline.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic and technical direction for all Voyant Aerosol Development activities, with immediate leadership attention to eliminating cost of nonquality at the Gainesville, Georgia aerosol plant and preventing recurrence across the aerosol network.
Assess project, product, and process risk from concept through commercialization; identify likely sources of nonquality before transfer; facilitate timely technical decisions; and ensure mitigation plans are documented, owned, verified, and escalated as appropriate.
Lead development and commercialization process improvement using cost-of-nonquality data, recurring defect themes, deviations, rework, scrap, holds, complaints, and launch learning to prioritize corrective and preventive changes.
Guide scale-up, technology transfer, and commercialization readiness, including hands-on R&D governance through the first three production runs and confirmation that process capability, specifications, operating ranges, and defect-prevention controls are understood and transferred.
Coach, develop, and hold accountable Aerosol R&D leadership and technical teams, including direct leadership of the Senior Manager, R&D in Elkhart.
Partner closely with Gainesville Operations, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Regulatory, Safety, Supply Chain, Commercial, and customers to remove root causes of nonquality and deliver robust products and capable manufacturing processes.
Own the operating model and technical governance for Aerosol R&D from project intake and feasibility through launch stabilization, with Gainesville as the initial priority for cost-of-nonquality reduction.
Establish project risk profiles, decision criteria, technical review points, escalation paths, and accountability for corrective actions.
Coach teams in structured problem solving, root cause analysis, experimentation, scale-up, and transfer of knowledge into manufacturing.
Establish a fact-based cost-of-nonquality review for Gainesville, identify systemic sources of failure and variation, prioritize the largest preventable losses, and sponsor changes that improve quality, predictability, yield, and right-first-time execution.
Ensure formulas, component requirements, specifications, process parameters, risk assessments, trial outcomes, acceptance criteria, and commercialization learnings are complete, technically justified, and usable by aerosol plants.
Provide active technical oversight during initial production and ensure first-three-run deviations, defects, downtime drivers, rework, scrap, and other nonquality signals are investigated, closed, and incorporated into the formula, package, process, specification, or control plan as appropriate.
Build organizational capability through mentoring, succession planning, technical standards, and communities of practice.
Communicate cost-of-nonquality priorities, technical risks, corrective actions, decision needs, resource constraints, validated financial impact, and sustained improvement progress to R&D and business leadership.
Duties may vary slightly by location.