Senior Technical Expert - Decorative Coatings Americas

Evonik•Allentown, PA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Provides technical representation of the Decorative Coatings market segment for all application areas (Architectural, Floor, and Wood Coatings, Pigment Concentrates, as well as DECO-Other) in the Americas, acting as the primary interface with the market and to customers.

Requirements

M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related scientific discipline required.
Minimum of 10 years of chemical industry experience, including customer technical support and development of additives or resins for coatings applications.
Minimum of 10 years of experience leading new product and application development projects and supervising the technical work of others.
Recognized by customers and the North American Coatings Industry as a technical expert in coatings additives, with demonstrated expertise in coating additives and structure-property relationships to solve application challenges and achieve desired performance.
Demonstrated technical expertise with the ability to recommend technical solutions for specific customer applications.
Proven leadership and project management skills, with experience supporting customers and distributors and collaborating across R&D, Applied Technology, Marketing, and Sales.
Strong interpersonal, teamwork, and written/verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across regions and functions in a complex, matrixed organization; English fluency required.

Responsibilities

Serve as a primary senior technical expert and customer contact for Decorative Coatings applications in North America, with emphasis on Pigment Concentrates, Wood Coatings, and Flooring.
Provide high-level technical service and application support through customer visits, virtual engagements, conferences, trade shows, webinars, and technical presentations.
Identify customer needs, technical service opportunities, and application challenges, translating them into effective technical solutions and development initiatives and projects.
Lead application testing, product benchmarking, and technical evaluations to demonstrate product performance, value, and competitive differentiation.
Drive new product process development projects in collaboration with RD&I, regional ART teams, Market Segments, Product Lines, scientists, and laboratory personnel.
Define and supervise experimental work supporting product development, validate results, contribute to intellectual property activities, and pursue patent applications when appropriate.
Monitor market trends, competitive activity, customer requirements, and emerging technologies to identify innovation opportunities and develop Decorative Coatings market strategies for region North America.
Partner with Marketing and commercial teams to translate technical findings into customer-facing materials, including technical publications, fact sheets, product launch presentations, and training content.
Serve as Global ART Lead for designated Global Key Accounts, partnering with Key Account Management, Marketing, and global technical teams to coordinate technical projects and growth opportunities.
Build and share Decorative Coatings expertise by participating in or leading internal expert committees, Centers of Excellence, technical training, and knowledge transfer related to additives and formulation technology.
Demonstrate leadership in EHSQ by complying with site and regional requirements, supporting Safe Work Practices and Design Hazard Reviews, assessing material and process hazards, and actively participating in site safety initiatives.