Senior Lead Chemist

ITW•Houston, TX

About The Position

Summary: The ideal candidate will bring a blend of technical and formulation expertise in aftermarket car care product development and strategy. Under the technical collaboration and/or direction of an R&D Leadership, the candidate will develop multiple projects in a fast-paced innovative environment. They are responsible for research, development, technical evaluation and testing of the formulations. This position requires a creative individual with a passion for technical learning and curiosity. The Senior Lead Chemist will spend approximately 50% of their daily activity working at the lab bench to create new products and solve complex technical problems to support the ITW Global Brand’s business strategies. Duties and Responsibilities: Translates customer needs/consumer paint points into effective product designs and customer-driven innovation strategies by partnering with Marketing & Technical Service/Application Engineering. Identifies, plans, recommends and completes major technical programs leading to innovative applications or extensions of existing and new technologies that have significant impact on the organization. Collaborate with various raw material suppliers/cross functional teams to research, develop and create differentiated products and solutions using surfactants, silicone fluid and its derivatives, polymers, and solvents. Lead formula development & manage technical aspects of assigned projects within ITW’s stage-gate process in conjunction with a project manager. Clearly identify project goals, product design requirements, technical approach, test strategy, and conduct laboratory evaluations, comparison testing and issue final comprehensive reports. Conduct patent searches to monitor competitive innovations and generate intellectual property in own area of development in the form of patents, formulation know-how, and trade secrets. Support the scale-up of formulations from lab scale to mid- and full-size manufacturing batches. Coordinate and work with internal departments on the technology transfer for scale-up, and commercialization, and determine the appropriate design and product specifications to maximize ease of manufacturing and customer applications. Knowledge of ISO practice/requirements for manufacturing scaleups will be added advantage. Provide short- and long-term support for current products to maintain ITW’s reputation for quality and performance by qualifying alternative sources of raw materials and validating performance. Manage multiple projects/tasks independently and as part of a team and fully utilize analytical laboratory equipment. Understand, follow and stay abreast of important safety, health, environmental, quality and regulatory requirements affecting this industry. Minimal business travel required (< 10%) Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Master’s degree, or higher, in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering.
Minimum 6-8 years product formulation experience, preferably with consumer-packaged goods.

Nice To Haves

Ph.D. preferred.
Experience in surfactant/silicone/solvent/inorganic and polymer chemistry.
Knowledge of surface wetting / non-wetting phenomena, knowledge of reactive chemistry a plus.
Experience in physical/chemical characterization of surfaces.
Ability to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced innovative environment.
Ability to work independently and as a contributing team member.
Excellent problem-solving skills and logical approach to solving scientific problems.
Detail oriented, flexible, innovative and self-motivated.
Must demonstrate ability to perform tasks correctly and consistently.
Willing to collaborate and work in cross-functional teams to advance ideas and projects.
Strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills are essential with the ability to clearly present ideas to a cross-functional team and manufacturing partners.
Knowledge of ISO practice/requirements for manufacturing scaleups will be added advantage.

Responsibilities

Translates customer needs/consumer paint points into effective product designs and customer-driven innovation strategies by partnering with Marketing & Technical Service/Application Engineering.
Identifies, plans, recommends and completes major technical programs leading to innovative applications or extensions of existing and new technologies that have significant impact on the organization.
Collaborate with various raw material suppliers/cross functional teams to research, develop and create differentiated products and solutions using surfactants, silicone fluid and its derivatives, polymers, and solvents.
Lead formula development & manage technical aspects of assigned projects within ITW’s stage-gate process in conjunction with a project manager.
Clearly identify project goals, product design requirements, technical approach, test strategy, and conduct laboratory evaluations, comparison testing and issue final comprehensive reports.
Conduct patent searches to monitor competitive innovations and generate intellectual property in own area of development in the form of patents, formulation know-how, and trade secrets.
Support the scale-up of formulations from lab scale to mid- and full-size manufacturing batches.
Coordinate and work with internal departments on the technology transfer for scale-up, and commercialization, and determine the appropriate design and product specifications to maximize ease of manufacturing and customer applications.
Provide short- and long-term support for current products to maintain ITW’s reputation for quality and performance by qualifying alternative sources of raw materials and validating performance.
Manage multiple projects/tasks independently and as part of a team and fully utilize analytical laboratory equipment.
Understand, follow and stay abreast of important safety, health, environmental, quality and regulatory requirements affecting this industry.
Other duties as assigned.