Product Development Chemist

Steel Partners•Bristol Township, PA

About The Position

The Product Development Chemist- Commercial Accounts is a hands-on materials and formulation leader responsible for guiding commercial product development, technical problem solving, and process optimization activities. This role combines advanced polymer and coatings formulation expertise with structured technical governance. The Commercial Technical Lead drives early-stage product development and formulation direction for complex commercial opportunities, establishes technical intent and success criteria, and then transitions structured execution and scale-up activities to downstream team members. This position serves as the technical authority for commercial work intake and prioritization while maintaining meaningful laboratory engagement and development ownership. The Product Development Chemist- Commercial Accounts operates with high autonomy and serves as the primary technical front door for commercial work, ensuring that customer support, product development, and process optimization efforts are intentional, disciplined, and aligned with business priorities.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience formulating and optimizing chemistry and material systems to meet performance and manufacturing constraints.
Ability to design and interpret structured experiments (DOE, robustness studies, validation testing).
Hands-on laboratory capability with the ability to both execute and guide technical work.
Strong technical judgment and problem-solving ability.
Ability to scope, prioritize, and direct work without owning all execution.
Experience with structured workflows (e.g., development projects, trials, change management).
Clear written and verbal communication skills
Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or related field required.
7+ years of experience in materials, coatings, films, polymers, or related manufacturing environments.
Demonstrated leadership in commercial development, technical decision-making, or process development.
Experience working cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, QA, and Commercial teams.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead onboarding and early technical direction of commercial Development Requests (DRs).
Evaluate technical feasibility, risk, effort, and manufacturability.
Answer the critical business question: “What would it take?”
Lead front-end formulation and early-stage product development for complex commercial opportunities.
Perform and guide initial laboratory work to establish technical direction before delegating structured execution to downstream team members.
Develop and refine formulations, constructions, and material solutions to meet customer performance and manufacturing requirements.
Transition structured execution and scale-up activities to the Customer Solutions Chemist once technical direction and success criteria are defined.
Determine whether work should proceed as structured product development, laboratory testing, process trial, or corrective action activity within the company’s formal workflow system.
Authorize, filter, and frame Commercial Technical Services Requests (TSRs).
Serve as the escalation point for complex commercial technical issues.
Identify and prioritize optimization opportunities based on: O Engineering needs O Ops and QA feedback O Business impact
Determine and direct the appropriate workflow: O Product testing and data collection O Internal production trials O Corrective Actions and RCCMs
Partner with Engineering on trial design and interpretation.
Confirm readiness for handoff to Operations and Quality.
Establish and drive 5S standards for wet and dry lab spaces used by the Dunmore team.
Drive adherence to organization, cleanliness, labeling, and standard work expectations.
Conduct periodic audits and corrective actions to maintain lab readiness.
Reinforce execution discipline across all users of Tech Services lab spaces.
Partner with Business Development on customer-facing technical discussions.
Provide technical input to guide commercial product focus and prioritization.
Collaborate closely with Operations, Engineering, and Quality.
Prevent commercial work from encroaching on Aerospace development.
Resolve most commercial technical decisions independently.
Escalate only issues involving: O Material revenue or margin risk O Strategic conflict O Capacity-breaking commitments