Senior R&D Scientist I

Covestro • Pittsburgh, PA

14h

About The Position

This position is a competent operating professional, capable of technical leadership. This position primarily supports automotive headliner and filtration applications. Broad insight into polyurethane chemistry is also required to support additional specialty applications as needed and offer product quality recommendations. The position holder organizes and conducts laboratory experiments and scale-up evaluations to develop new products and solve technical problems that are non-routine in nature.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Material Science, Engineering or related discipline with 4+ years’ experience; OR Master’s degree in Chemistry, Material Science, Engineering or related discipline with 2+years’ experience; OR PhD degree in Chemistry, Material Science, Engineering or related discipline with 1+ years’ experience

Nice To Haves

• Experience with polyurethane formulation
• Experience working directly with customers as a technical expert
• Strong organizational and planning skills in order to plan and schedule assignments as part of overall project.
• Demonstrated creativity in order to recommend and implement solutions to meet business objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation and communication skills.
• Demonstrated analytical skills in order to identify and resolve problems in all aspects of new product development and commercialization
• Ability to think independently in order to support products with a diverse base in the Specialties market.
• Experience in formulating polyurethane systems for automotive and diversified applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead medium-sized projects (ie, more financially impactful to Covestro) that require procedural development. This may include the direction of others, and mentorship of team members.
• Possess requisite technical knowledge to execute complex assignments when given broadly defined policies and objectives.
• Design tests, processes and develop new technical approaches.
• Create formulations that pass small-scale screening tests and then sees these candidates through to customer implementation.
• Addressing complex challenges and makes direct decisions.
• Lead the planning and implementation of machine trials by verifying the formulations, processing conditions and other parameters, then recording observations such as chemical / foam mix quality and flow, cure rate, appearances.
• Requires creative, variable problem-solving to address challenges.
• Primary focus is on regional goals; it influences project direction by providing recommendations based on technical expertise and knowledge of business strategy.
• North American lead for automotive headliner platform, collaborating with global team to drive localization efforts.
• North American technical point of contact for filtration market.
• Coordinate with Technical Service and Product Planning and Supply to introduce new specialty systems.
• Monitor new customer product data to assess manufacturing compatibility and assist with customer trouble-shooting efforts.
• Build a strong relationship with technical counterparts at assigned customers.
• Ensure an appropriate level of communicating results to keep both the customer team and the internal Covestro team informed of work progress and status.
• Assist with evaluations of potential products, process improvements, raw materials, potential hazards or equipment by conducting lab bench-work.
• Build relationships with key vendors to keep informed about new products that may help meet our goals.
• Read relevant technical reports and articles, review patents and discuss new ideas with customers.
• Potentially involved in industry trade associations.
• Report results in statistical manner to Application Development and business management, identifying deviant results and alternative protocols to identify problems or provide solutions.
• Provide recommendations on product quality assessments.
• Higher level of involvement in safety improvement or multi-group resource activities (reviews, training, new employee onboarding, etc.)

Benefits

• Hiring and advancement are based on job-related requirements and on an individual's qualifications to perform a job. All aspects of employment are carried out free of discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disabilities, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression or any unlawful criterion, existing under applicable federal, state, or local law.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees