Senior Chemist

Clariant•Leesburg, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Clariant is seeking a talented Senior Chemist to join our North America Industrial Applications technical team at our Mt. Holly, North Carolina facility. This role offers an exciting opportunity to drive innovation and growth in high-performance industrial applications, including industrial lubricants, metalworking formulations, and related markets. The Senior Chemist will provide critical technical support to Industrial Applications customers through laboratory projects, formulation development, and direct customer engagement in cooperation with account managers and business leadership. This position develops independent projects with high commercial potential, serves as a key technical resource for customers and internal stakeholders, and contributes to sales growth through innovative formulation and application solutions. The increasing demand for high-performance, environmentally friendly industrial solutions presents significant opportunities for innovation. Clariant offers a broad range of lubricity agents, emulsifiers, corrosion inhibitors, polyglycols, and other functional chemistries that improve the performance of metalworking formulations and related applications across metal forming, metal removal, hydraulic fluids, quenching, cleaning, rolling oils, gear oils, and other markets.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, or a related field
4+ years of laboratory experience proven experience in formulation and new product development
Ability to define project objectives, evaluate costs, and support implementation
Experience managing projects across cross-functional, multinational teams

Responsibilities

Lead high-impact technical projects from concept to commercialization
Design and execute formulation and application testing projects
Translate customer needs into innovative product solutions
Generate data to demonstrate product performance vs. competitors
Track industry trends and patent activity to identify new opportunities
Provide technical expertise to support sales growth and customer solutions
Serve as key liaison between customers, sales, and business teams
Resolve technical inquiries and present results to internal and external stakeholders
Build strong customer relationships through regular engagement
Lead lab execution, data analysis, and reporting with technician support
Contribute to technical literature, data sheets, and presentations
Collaborate with regional/global R&D and Innovation Center teams
Manage multiple projects with competing priorities and timelines
Drive innovation and cross-functional collaboration
Identify and implement improvements in quality, processes, and project execution
Engage with industry stakeholders through conferences and local chapter meetings, presenting Clariant's featured products and tracking relevant market trends.