Chemist

About the role

Our Research and Development team plays an important role in our business and product development success. As a Product Development Chemist, you will work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, leveraging your entrepreneurial spirit, investigative abilities, and customer‑relationship skills to create great product development outcomes. You will design, develop, and scale‑up differentiated commercial products in a rapidly growing environment.

Our culture and values

ITW’s decentralized, entrepreneurial culture brings exciting ideas to life through a “flexibility within the framework” approach. The company is committed to providing growth and development opportunities that maximize your unique potential, empowering you to think and act like a business owner. As part of One ITW/One Team, everyone’s contribution matters in the quest to achieve full potential. Core values include focusing on the essential core of each business opportunity, gaining strength through trial and error while sharing risk as a team, treating customers and suppliers with integrity and transparency, respecting diversity at every level to foster an open environment for innovation, and trusting team members to work to the highest professional standards in the company’s best interests.

You might like this job if you enjoy/are good at…

• Being an entrepreneurial self‑starter who takes initiative and ownership, constantly seeking ways to improve.
• Thriving in a fast‑paced environment that keeps you on your toes, loving a good challenge and staying calm under pressure.
• Being resilient, enjoying finding solutions to complex challenges with poise and resolve.
• Loving to put together the pieces of a puzzle and constantly seeking to understand the whole picture.

Primary responsibilities

• Develop new acrylic, polyurethane, and epoxy adhesive compositions for the alternative energy, transportation, wear & abrasion, and general industrial markets.
• Innovate with polymers, catalysts, modifiers, and monomers in adhesives to fulfill unmet customer/application needs for developing differentiated products while complying with adopted ISO requirements.
• Manage technical aspects of assigned projects within ITW’s stage‑gate process in conjunction with a project manager.
• Conduct patent searches to monitor competitive innovations and generate intellectual property in the form of patents, formulation know‑how, and trade secrets.
• Participate in the scale‑up of formulations from lab scale to mid‑ and full‑size commercial batches.
• Coordinate and work with internal departments on technology transfer for scale‑up, commercialization, and determine appropriate design and product specifications to maximize ease of manufacturing and customer application.
• Provide short‑ and long‑term support for current products to maintain ITW’s reputation for quality and performance by qualifying alternative sources of raw materials and validating performance.
• Manage multiple projects/tasks independently and as part of a team and fully utilize analytical laboratory equipment.
• Work hands‑on in the laboratory, when necessary, manage the daily activities of a research lab technician(s).
• Promote, support, and adhere to all safety, environmental, and quality policies and procedures.

Skills & competencies

• MS or PhD in Organic or Polymer Chemistry preferred.
• 2‑5 years of industrial R&D experience in product development/chemistry roles preferred.
• Adhesives and coatings formulation experience strongly preferred.
• Strong computer, organizational, and destructive and mechanical testing skills required.
• Fluency with Word, Excel, and Access.
• Experience with polymer testing equipment (DSC, TGA, Rheometer, Instron) highly preferred.
• Successful experience developing adhesives/coatings in a commercial setting.
• Must be willing to collaborate and work in teams to advance ideas and projects.
• Must possess excellent communication, organizational, analytical, and investigative skills.
• Must be a practical, hands‑on chemist/scientist with excellent formulation skills and problem‑solving ability.

Pay

The salary for this role is $110,000.00 – $120,000.00.