Formulation Chemist

Intermountain Blending and Filling LLC•Meridian, ID

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Intermountain Blending & Filling is looking for a Formulation Chemist to develop and improve personal care and home care formulas for IBF customers. The Formulation Chemist is the subject matter expert (SME) with regards to formulated products and their raw materials. The Formulation Chemist is responsible for developing liquids, emulsions, and powder formulas in the personal care, skin care, hair care, home care, cleaning, pet, spa, and laundry categories within customer and regional requirements. The Formulation Chemist may function as a working Chemist, with responsibilities to supervise more junior R&D staff.

Requirements

B.S. degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
3+ years of formulation and production experience
2+ years of experience in development of personal care products
Strong knowledge of formulations for personal care and home care products that can deliver a fragrance experience
Knowledge of laundry products and their formulation
Ability to work in a fast-paced laboratory environment, working safely with laboratory equipment, chemicals, and manufacturing raw materials, including fragrances
Ability to gain familiarity with compounding equipment
Strong knowledge of safety data sheets (SDS)
Clear and direct written and verbal communication skills
Ability to consult with Compounders, Quality team members, and IBF customers in a clear and helpful manner
Ability to determine smell and color hues
Ability to occasionally bend, sit, squat, crawl, walk, and reach above shoulder level
Ability to frequently read, comprehend, write, perform complex mathematic calculations, communicate orally, and reason and analyze
Ability to write detailed INCI decks, batch cards, formulas, and technical reports
Working knowledge of computers and all applicable software including Microsoft Office Suite
Working knowledge of SAP or comparable ERP systems

Nice To Haves

Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) membership a plus
Laboratory background in analytical instrumentation with working knowledge in gas chromatography, rheometers, and FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared), a plus

Responsibilities

Formulate and facilitate the development of innovative products, line extensions, and product improvements in personal care and home care products
Identify and maintain external partnerships to develop new technologies and conceptual ideas in personal care and home care
Review current literature regarding formulations and regulatory aspects
Provide technical support to manufacturing on new and existing products
Manage scale-up from R&D lab batches to pilot validation runs with Process Engineering, owning each product’s efficacy and quality through the development phase and overseeing the transition to the Process Engineering team
Assist QA (Quality Assurance)/QC (Quality Control) in development of test methods for raw materials and finished products
Create specifications for raw materials and laboratory, scale-up, and production formulation batches
Source chemical samples from suppliers and create evaluation samples for customers
Evaluate costing, lead times, and minimum order quantities (MOQs) when sourcing potential new chemicals for formulations
Understand customer requirements and formulate to desired marketing claims and ingredient restrictions
Assist with production testing as needed, including validation runs
Assist with evaluation of new product, packaging, and equipment needs
Coordinate stability, microbiological, safety, and efficacy tests
Maintain constant cross-functional communication with Legal, Research and Development (R&D), and customer Manufacturing teams
Maintain laboratory order and cleanliness
Maintain a clean and safe work environment
Maintain laboratory equipment, managing preventive maintenance (PM) and calibrations
Oversee consumables supply inventories and create requisitions to replenish as needed
Train and supervise other R&D personnel (Chemists and Technicians) as a working Supervisor
Provide information and reports to support regulatory/compliance related submissions
Perform all other assigned tasks and requirements as needed