R&D- Senior Chemist (Industrial Wood)
About The Position
The Senior Chemist provides technical expertise and leadership to support maintenance-of-business activities for the Industrial Wood team. Reporting to the Technical Manager, the role sustains existing products, resolves customer and manufacturing issues, supports business continuity, and ensures reliable product performance. The Senior Chemist works closely with Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Quality, Technical Service, Supply Chain, Procurement, and customers to address technical challenges, execute product modifications, support operational needs, and deliver timely solutions that maintain customer satisfaction and business objectives. The position involves 20% travel. It also entails contact with other employees and access to confidential or proprietary information and other items of value. The company states that criminal-history review is necessary to protect its business, operations, reputation, staff, employees, and business relationships. The successful candidate will be required to sign an Employee Restrictive Covenant Agreement where permitted by law.
Requirements
- Must be legally authorized to work in the country of application without now or in the future requiring sponsorship for an employment visa or permanent residence status.
- Must be at least 18 years of age.
- Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field.
- At least 5 years of experience in coating formulation and application.
- Experience resolving technical issues and leading root cause investigations.
Nice To Haves
- Degree in Polymers and Coatings.
- MS or Ph.D.
- Experience in industrial or OEM coating formulation.
- Experience supporting commercialized products in a manufacturing and customer-facing environment.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Quality, Sales, Marketing, and Technical Service teams.
- At least 1 year of mentoring or management experience.
- Experience on customer application lines, such as curtain coaters, vacuum coaters, roll coaters, and other OEM application equipment.
- Familiarity with statistical analysis, Design of Experiments (DOE), DFSS, Lean Six Sigma, Kepner-Tregoe, or other problem-solving methodologies.
- Internship, co-op, or research experience supporting manufacturing or product development activities.
Responsibilities
- Lead technical activities supporting maintenance-of-business objectives, including product stewardship, customer issue resolution, manufacturing support, and sustaining existing product lines.
- Investigate and resolve internal and external technical issues using structured problem solving, root cause analysis, and corrective and preventive actions.
- Coordinate technical activities with Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Quality, Procurement, Technical Services, external customers, and other relevant functions.
- Prioritize and respond to urgent customer requests, product performance concerns, manufacturing issues, and supply continuity challenges.
- Identify risks to product quality, customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, and business continuity.
- Recommend and execute product modifications and process improvements that improve performance, manufacturability, reliability, and customer satisfaction while minimizing business disruption.
- Support manufacturing plants and customers through troubleshooting, process optimization, training, and technical consultation.
- Maintain strong technical relationships with customers and address escalated technical concerns as a key resource.
- Meet or exceed established turnaround times for customer support, investigations, corrective actions, and sustaining projects.
- Follow company safety requirements and laboratory standards to maintain safe operating procedures.
- Maintain laboratory inventories, equipment, panels, and supplies needed for ongoing business operations.
- Mentor and develop chemists and laboratory personnel through technical guidance, coaching, and knowledge sharing.
- Identify continuous-improvement opportunities that enhance operational efficiency, product performance, and customer experience.
- Prepare technical reports, investigation summaries, and recommendations communicating findings and business impacts to stakeholders.
- Adhere to company safety standards at all times.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
