Analytical Scientific Principal

About the role

At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping the future through innovation, sustainability, and collaboration. With trusted brands like Persil®, all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and cutting-edge technologies, you’ll have opportunities to explore new paths and grow. This position is within our Adhesive Technologies business unit, where we empower our people to transform industries and provide customers with a competitive advantage through adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Rheology Laboratory within the North America Analytical Solutions Group, providing rheological characterization of polymers, adhesives, coatings, and functional materials to support business growth and product innovation.
• Investigate customer and product challenges through root cause analysis, delivering analytical insights and solutions that support product development, technical service, and commercialization efforts.
• Develop and execute rheological testing methods using rotational rheometers, DMA, capillary rheometers, and extensional rheometers to characterize flow, deformation, and viscoelastic behavior of materials.
• Collaborate with R&D, Product Development, Technical Service, and Business teams to design analytical strategies, interpret results, and provide actionable recommendations for timely project execution.
• Communicate technical findings effectively to cross-functional stakeholders using digital tools and quality reports.
• Leverage expertise in rheological testing and polymer characterization to support product performance evaluation, failure analysis, competitive assessments, and innovation efforts. Experience with hot melt, waterborne, and pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) is highly desirable.
• Maintain laboratory excellence through high-quality data generation, SOP development, instrument maintenance and troubleshooting, and compliance with quality, safety, and continuous improvement standards.

Requirements

• Minimum M.S. degree required; Ph.D. preferred in Analytical Chemistry, Polymer Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related field, with extensive experience in polymer rheological characterization.
• 5 years or more of industrial experience required.
• Strong hands-on expertise in rheological testing and instrumentation, along with a solid foundation in polymer science.
• Automation and AI-driven operation mindset is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret complex analytical data and troubleshoot challenging problems involving sophisticated sample matrices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively present technical findings to diverse audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams.

Benefits

• Health Insurance: Affordable plans for medical, dental, vision, and wellbeing starting on day 1.
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off including sick, vacation, holiday, and volunteer time; flexible and hybrid work policies (depending on role); vacation buy/sell program.
• Financial: 401k matching, employee share plan with voluntary investment and Henkel matching shares, annual performance bonus, service awards, and student loan reimbursement.
• Family Support: 12-week gender-neutral parental leave (up to 20 weeks for parents giving birth), fertility support, adoption and surrogacy reimbursement, discounted child and elderly care, and scholarships.
• Career Growth: Diverse national and international growth opportunities, access to thousands of skills development courses, and tuition reimbursement.

Pay

The salary range for this role is $125,000.00 to $150,000.00. This range represents the good-faith minimum and maximum wages the Company reasonably expects to offer for this role at the time of posting. In addition to base salary, this position may be eligible for incentive pay or other forms of compensation, as applicable.