Senior Polymer Scientist / Engineer

James Hardie•Fontana, CA

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Polymer Scientist / Engineer supports the development, optimization, and deployment of PVC material technologies for high-performance, durable building products. The role applies polymer science and engineering fundamentals, particularly PVC chemistry, physics, processing, and structure–property–process relationships, to connect laboratory research with manufacturing implementation. The position can be based at the Wilmington, Ohio, or Fontana, California, plant and involves approximately 25% travel, mainly domestic. The role develops and evaluates PVC formulations, supports PVC compounding and extrusion operations, and helps scale laboratory formulations into robust production. It designs and conducts materials characterization and experimental work, interprets results using fundamental polymer knowledge, and maintains rigorous technical documentation. The position also plans technical projects, communicates findings through reports and presentations, and collaborates with suppliers and internal teams.

Requirements

PhD in Polymer Science, Polymer Engineering, Materials Science, or Chemical Engineering with 1–5 years of experience, or an MS in one of these fields with 3–7 years of experience.
Strong fundamental knowledge of polymer chemistry and polymer engineering.
Experience in AI-assisted material characterization and formulation development for composite materials.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to travel approximately 25%, mainly domestically.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with PVC compounding, extrusion, or formulation development.
Understanding of PVC materials, including stabilization chemistry, fusion behavior, degradation mechanisms, and extrusion processing.
Experience supporting high-volume manufacturing or pilot-scale operations.
Familiarity with building materials and durability requirements.

Responsibilities

Develop, optimize, and evaluate PVC formulations, including resins, stabilizer systems, lubricants, impact modifiers, process aids, fillers, and pigments.
Apply polymer science and engineering principles to formulation design, including thermodynamics, viscoelasticity, molecular-weight effects, phase behavior, and degradation mechanisms.
Apply knowledge of PVC fusion and gelation, thermal stability, shear sensitivity, rheology, and morphology development.
Establish and interpret structure–property–processing relationships to balance durability, mechanical performance, surface quality, and manufacturability.
Conduct laboratory-scale compounding, extrusion, and molding in support of product development, cost initiatives, and sustainability initiatives.
Drive AI-assisted material characterization and formulation development.
Support PVC extrusion and compounding processes, troubleshooting formulation-related surface defects, instability, degradation, dimensional control, and throughput limitations.
Use polymer processing fundamentals—including heat transfer, shear and elongational flow, residence time, die swell, cooling, and orientation effects—to diagnose and resolve manufacturing issues.
Partner with manufacturing, quality, and process engineering teams to scale laboratory formulations to robust, high-yield production.
Support pilot-scale and plant trials.
Design and execute experimental plans using thermal, mechanical, rheological, and environmental characterization techniques.
Interpret characterization data using first-principles understanding of polymer behavior and PVC material response.
Maintain high standards for documentation and technical rigor.
Plan and execute technical projects with defined scope and milestones.
Communicate complex polymer concepts through written reports and presentations.
Collaborate with suppliers and internal stakeholders.