Lead Product Development Engineer
About The Position
At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping the future through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With our trusted brands like Persil®, ‘all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and our cutting-edge technologies, you’ll have countless opportunities to explore new paths and grow. This position is with our Adhesive Technologies business unit – where we empower our people to transform industries and provide our customers with a competitive advantage through adhesives, sealants and functional coatings. Dare to learn new skills, advance in your career and make an impact at Henkel.
Requirements
- BS/MS in Chemical, Materials, Mechanical, Polymer, or related engineering field.
- 7–10+ years in product/process development, including scale‑up and validation.
- Proven leadership of cross‑functional projects and mentoring junior engineers.
- Hands‑on experience with pilot equipment (e.g., mixers, mills, extruders, reactors) and lab instrumentation.
- Strong in DOE/statistics, data analysis, and problem solving (Minitab/JMP).
- Familiar with quality systems (ISO/IATF/AS/13485 as relevant) and regulatory frameworks
- Demonstrated customer‑facing technical support and presentation skills.
- Must be willing to travel 20-30% domestically and internationally.
Responsibilities
- Own the product development lifecycle from pilot trials → validation → manufacturing scale‑up → launch.
- Lead DOE/experimental design, data analysis, and optimization to meet performance & Quality.
- Define and execute verification & validation plans.
- Lead pilot plant trials; develop process parameters, batch records, and scale‑up guides.
- Author technical documentation: product specs, SDS inputs, test methods, PPAP (as applicable).
- Serve as technical lead for customer trials, sampling plans, and post‑launch support.
- Partner with Sourcing/Manufacturing on raw material qualification.
- Drive project planning: scope, schedule, risk, resources, and status reporting to stakeholders.
- Mentor junior engineers; promote best practices, standard work, and continuous improvement (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma).
Benefits
- Health Insurance: affordable plans for medical, dental, vision and wellbeing starting on day 1
- Work-Life Balance: Paid time off including sick, vacation, holiday and volunteer time, flexible & hybrid work policies (depending on role), and vacation buy / sell program
- Financial: 401k matching, employee share plan with voluntary investment and Henkel matching shares, annual performance bonus, service awards and student loan reimbursement
- Family Support: 12-week gender neutral parental leave (up to 20 weeks for parents giving birth), fertility support, adoption & surrogacy reimbursement, discounted child and elderly care, and scholarships
- Career Growth: diverse national and international growth opportunities, access to thousands of skills development courses, and tuition reimbursement
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Number of Employees
5,001-10,000 employees
