Sr. Staff Scientist, Specialty Additives

Ashland • Wilmington, NC

14d • Onsite

About The Position

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Sr. Staff Scientist to join our Specialty Additives business at our Wilmington, DE location. This position will report to R&D Director for Specialty Additives Wilmington lab. This role is pivotal in developing and commercializing advanced additives for coatings applications, including architectural, industrial, and specialty markets. The ideal candidate will have deep technical expertise in polymer chemistry, surface science, and formulation science, especially in water-borne architectural and industrial coatings, along with a strong track record of innovation and cross-functional collaboration.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field; M.S. with extensive experience may be considered.
• 5-10 years of relevant experience in coatings, additives, or related specialty chemicals.
• Strong understanding of coating formulation and application, especially in water-borne architectural and industrial coatings, ideally with strong knowledge of rheology modifiers, surfactants, dispersants, and other coating additives.
• Track record of successful innovation toward commercialization
• Excellent communication, leadership, and project management skills.
• Demonstrated responsible and ethical behavior at all times
• The ability to help the company drive greater value through understanding the business, making complex decisions and creating the new and different

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute R&D projects focused on the development of novel coating additives (e.g., rheology modifiers, dispersants, defoamers, wetting agents, etc.).
• Drive innovation projects through stage-gate process toward successful commercialization
• Design and conduct experiments to evaluate additive performance in various coating systems
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product development, marketing, regulatory, and manufacturing to translate lab-scale innovations into commercial products.
• Maintain awareness of industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitive landscape to inform strategic direction.
• Author technical reports, patent disclosures, and scientific publications.
• Represent the company at industry conferences, customer meetings, and technical forums.
• Actively contribute to the organizational goals by taking initiative, executing on goals and focusing on performance and safety
• Improve the organization capacity and capabilities through building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent and utilizing positive communications and influence with others

Benefits

• industry competitive salary and benefits
• pay-for-performance incentive plans
• a diverse work environment where employees feel challenged and valued
• opportunities for development and advancement throughout our global organization

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees