Senior Scientist - Minerology, Glass, & Petrography

Original Composites and Fibers•Granville, OH

About The Position

The Senior Scientist serves as a regional technical expert for mineral raw materials, glass chemistry, petrographic analysis, and analytical characterization across the Original Composites & Fiberglass Americas manufacturing network. The role advances understanding of mineral systems, glass defects, raw material performance, furnace-related quality issues, and sustainability opportunities to support safe, stable, and cost-effective operations. It partners with plant technical teams, Operations, Innovation, Quality, Supply Chain, Sourcing, and external suppliers to improve product quality, process capability, raw material utilization, and manufacturing performance. The position provides technical leadership for minerals, raw materials, glass chemistry, petrography, and analytical investigations across Americas manufacturing locations. It supports manufacturing, innovation, quality, sourcing, and capital project teams as a senior individual contributor and subject matter expert; leads regional efforts related to raw material qualification, defect reduction, glass quality improvement, and process optimization; and serves as a technical resource for furnace performance, batch formulation, raw material performance, and glass structure characterization. The role also collaborates with internal and external laboratories, universities, suppliers, and technical experts to advance company capabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Geology, Mineralogy, Ceramic Engineering, Glass Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Demonstrated experience in glass manufacturing, industrial minerals, raw materials, analytical laboratories, or another process manufacturing environment.
Strong knowledge of glass chemistry, batch formulation, mineral systems, and melting processes.
Experience performing root-cause investigations and translating technical findings into corrective actions.
Knowledge of petrographic analysis, microscopy techniques, defect characterization, and material characterization methods.
Ability to interpret complex data and translate findings into actionable business and manufacturing recommendations.
Strong project management, technical writing, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to travel throughout the Americas region approximately 25–40%, with travel fluctuating based on plant priorities and project needs.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in Glass Science, Geology, Mineralogy, Ceramic Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.
Experience with fiberglass, glass manufacturing, refractories, industrial minerals, or comparable process industries.
Knowledge of analytical techniques such as SEM/EDS, XRF, XRD, optical microscopy, image analysis, or related technologies.
Experience supporting sustainability, recycled materials, alternative raw materials, or raw material innovation initiatives.

Responsibilities

Promote safety and environmental stewardship in laboratory, plant, and field activities; ensure compliance with relevant procedures and requirements; support safe trials, testing, sample collection, technical investigations, risk assessments, and technical reviews.
Serve as the Americas subject matter expert for minerals, raw materials, and batch constituents used in glass manufacturing.
Evaluate raw material performance, consistency, purity, availability, and effects on furnace operations and product quality.
Support supplier qualification, alternative-source evaluations, and sustainability initiatives involving recycled and decarbonized materials.
Partner with Sourcing and Operations on strategic mineral-related challenges and opportunities; recommend material specifications, acceptance criteria, and change-management actions.
Lead petrographic analysis and characterization of glass, defects, inclusions, refractory contamination, stones, seeds, cords, and other quality concerns.
Use microscopy, SEM, XRD, and laboratory techniques to identify root causes of manufacturing and product issues.
Develop and maintain best practices for petrographic investigations, sample handling, documentation, and technical reporting.
Interpret analytical results and communicate findings and recommended actions to plant, quality, and leadership teams.
Lead petrography support for OCF plants, including escalation analysis and training for the global network.
Provide manufacturing plants with technical support on glass chemistry, batch formulation, melting performance, and process capability.
Support continuous improvement in batch-house projects, including cycle time, batch-weighing variation (Cpk), and batch-house maintenance and reliability across the network.
Troubleshoot issues related to raw materials, melting, refractory interactions, and product quality.
Analyze operational and laboratory data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.
Support process optimization initiatives that improve quality, productivity, sustainability, and cost competitiveness.
Provide technical support during major furnace events, trials, rebuilds, startups, and material transitions as required.
Support development and implementation of innovative mineral technologies, recycled materials, and sustainability initiatives.
Participate in research on raw material performance, furnace efficiency, emissions reduction, and circular economy objectives.
Collaborate with Innovation teams to transition new technologies and formulations into manufacturing.
Develop technical standards, procedures, training materials, and repeatable methods for regional use.
Capture lessons learned and mentor plant engineers and technical personnel in glass chemistry, minerals, defect analysis, and petrography.
Build partnerships across Operations, Innovation, Quality, Capital Delivery, Supply Chain, Sourcing, and external partners.
Communicate technical findings to technical and non-technical audiences, influence decisions through data and expertise, and share best practices across regional and global technical networks.
Contribute to reducing mineral-, glass-, and raw-material-related quality defects and repeat events; stable glass-fiber manufacturing performance; improved raw material consistency, qualification, and supplier performance; faster resolution of quality issues; successful alternative, recycled, and lower-carbon material initiatives; and measurable safety, quality, productivity, cost, and sustainability objectives.