Chemist - Sr.

Position Summary

The Senior Chemist is:

• Responsible for advanced material development projects, formulation & families of compounds.
• Responsible for maintaining material/product management system, defining rules and leading standardization.
• Responsible for participating in new program development and quoting new business.
• Responsible for managing all tasks and duties of chemists, collaborating with technicians, and supporting manufacturing technical staff at a global level, and managing approval of production material.
• Responsible for being the interface with internal customers (operation, lab, quality control, purchasing, engineering) & OEM & JV, and managing & developing technical relations with raw materials suppliers and external compound suppliers.
• Responsible for keeping awareness regarding state of the art, market trends, etc.

Primary Responsibilities

• Capability to formulate, manage/oversee compound sample preparation, advanced lab techniques and understand product (quality standards, specifications) & process (mixing, extrusion & molding).
• Manage validation of new materials and generate new/standardized validation methodology.
• Lead less complex projects or be a team member on larger projects, and independently carry out project tasks.

• Manage product information in the appropriate systems for development, production and legacy materials.
• Manage and develop best practices, standards and specifications for development, production and legacy materials.
• Provide test data, reports, comparisons in order to establish solutions for issues and provide guidance for standardization and adherence to applicable rules and regulations.

• Work with program teams to provide technical support, assign standard materials, ensure proper material validation, as well as maintain budgets and timing for new program development and quoting.

• Review customer specs to ensure materials adhere to performance requirements and assist various teams in problem resolution (i.e. KT, 8D, DOE, AI etc.) and provide necessary documentation as appropriate.
• Supervise or lead other team members relative to implementation of projects related to research, innovation and/or new and modified materials.
• Interface as appropriate with a variety of specialized pieces of equipment and provide guidance on use, calibration, procedures and effectiveness in use on various materials.

• Participate and on occasion lead various VAVE, lean and continuous improvement activities.
• Support and communicate with internal and external customers relative to a variety of issues including material validation, testing, quality and development.

Meet with suppliers to ensure awareness of the latest developments in materials and supply.

Responsible to keep awareness regarding state of the art, market trends, etc.

• Aware of current best practices and updates and communicates to others as appropriate.
• Benchmark competitive materials and products and implement as appropriate.
• Actively review industry standards and publications to keep up with the latest trends and developments.
• Communicate and implement as appropriate.

May, on occasion, be required to perform duties other than those specified in this description.

Education And Qualifications

• Master's Degree in polymer science and engineering, chemistry or chemical engineering, metallurgy or metallurgical engineering. PhD preferred.
• Alternatively, Bachelor's degree plus at least 10 years professional technical experience in the manufacturing industry.
• Typically, 10+ years of experience.
• Teamwork ability, strong ability of multi-tasking and impartation to impact quality and effectiveness of teams.
• Guideline and policy oriented work to achieve objectives and meet deadlines.
• Strong chemistry, mathematical skills and mechanical aptitude.
• Aptitude for solving complex problems by sharp analytical & interpretation skills.
• Ability to understand advanced professional chemistry principles and practices.
• Ability to work independently, with guidance in only the most complex situations.
• Full professional proficiency in English; other languages will be valued.
• Strong written & oral communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to assess risk and prioritize projects/tasks.
• Strong communication skills – including the ability to translate complex subject matters to an audience of varying skill levels and points of views.
• Proficient in database, product life cycle management systems, project management tools and basic to advanced IT skills.
• Awareness of ISO/TS 16949 standards.
• Advanced understanding of IP.
• Project management capabilities.