**Job Description:** **ESSENTIAL DUTIES** + **R&D Leadership:** Manage, guide, and mentor a team of scientists and technicians in the design, development, and optimization of chemical products and processes, ensuring that research objectives align with business needs. + **Team Development:** Manage, mentor, and develop a high-performing team. Provide guidance and support to foster a collaborative and innovative environment. + **Innovation & Problem Solving:** Drive customer-back innovation by identifying new opportunities for product and process development. Address technical challenges and propose effective solutions. + **Process Development & Optimization:** Develop and optimize chemical processes for scalability, cost-effectiveness, and consistency. Work closely with manufacturing to ensure smooth transition from laboratory to pilot-scale production while maintaining product quality. + **Quality Control Monitoring:** Monitor, analyze, and improve existing quality systems and metrics. Ensure that adequate testing and validation are conducted to maintain high product quality. + **Cross-Functional Collaboration:** Partner with manufacturing, quality, and commercial teams to ensure product development meets customer expectations and regulatory requirements. Provide technical support to production teams for troubleshooting and resolving quality-related issues. + **Technical Expertise:** Provide scientific leadership on chemical processes, materials, formulations, and analytical methods. Ensure all work adheres to industry standards and regulatory requirements. Keep up to date with the latest trends, technologies, and developments in the chemical industry. + **Project Documentation:** Prepare detailed technical reports, research papers, and patents, as well as ensuring proper documentation for compliance and regulatory submission. + **Resource Management:** Manage R&D budgets, allocate resources effectively, and ensure that projects stay within financial and resource constraints. + **Continuous Improvement:** Drive a culture of continuous improvement by identifying opportunities for enhancing product quality, reducing defects, and improving overall R&D processes. + **Regulatory Compliance:** Stay up-to-date on industry regulations and quality standards. Ensure that all R&D activities are compliant with applicable safety, environmental, and regulatory guidelines (e.g., REACH, OSHA, FDA, ISO). **EDUCATION and/or EQUIVALENT EXPERIENCE** + **Education:** Bachelor’s in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field. Master's or Ph.D. is a plus. + **Experience:** Minimum of 5 years of experience in R&D or product development within the chemical industry, with at least 2 years in a managerial role. Experience in formulating aerosol products is highly preferred. **OTHER QUALIFICATIONS** + **Leadership Skills:** Proven ability to lead and mentor a diverse team of scientists, engineers, and researchers. Ability to create a collaborative and high-performing work environment. + **Technical Expertise:** Strong knowledge of chemical process development, product formulation, and testing methodologies. Familiarity with industry-standard quality control and assurance processes. + **Project Management:** Strong project management skills with experience managing multiple projects simultaneously, including budget oversight, scheduling, and resource allocation. + **Quality Management:** Experience with quality management systems (e.g., ISO 9001), root cause analysis, and continuous improvement techniques (e.g., Six Sigma, Lean). + **Regulatory Knowledge:** In-depth understanding of regulatory frameworks and standards within the chemical industry. Ability to navigate compliance requirements in global markets. **PROBLEM SOLVING** Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills using 80/20 and continuous improvement principles. **COMMUNICATION SKILLS** Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. **MATHEMATICAL SKILLS** Must demonstrate mathematical skills appropriate to scientific computations. **REASONING ABILITIES** Must demonstrate (through example of prior experience) the ability to apply logic and reasoning in a difficult business situation. **PHYSICAL DEMANDS** Must be capable of meeting standard office demands of data entry, sitting, etc., as well as air travel **RESPONSIBILITY FOR EQUIPMENT/PROCESS/PRODUCT/ETC.** Must accept responsibility for the proper use of equipment, processes, and products made available by the company. **WORK ENVIRONMENT** Must be capable of working in a standard office / laboratory environment. Must be capable of working for short periods of time in a manufacturing environment, which may require exposure to heat and cold and machinery **SAFETY** Must be capable of and willing to accept all safety instruction, policies and procedures, as deemed necessary by the company.