Lead Application Engineer for Business Development

About this Position

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

What you'll do

• Drive technical solutions and innovation in flexible packaging coatings, supporting film-based applications and new business opportunities.
• Collaborate with Business Development, R&D, Sales, and customers to move projects from concept through commercialization.
• Lead lab-based development, including experiment design, testing, and continuous improvement of formulations and processes.
• Apply expertise in coating, laminating, and film extrusion to troubleshoot and optimize customer applications.
• Manage project execution, including timelines, supplier coordination, and milestone delivery.
• Support pilot and customer trials, both internally and at customer or converter sites.
• Engage with customers at all levels, delivering technical insights, training, and presentations.

What Makes You a Good Fit

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Mechanical, or Materials Engineering, Chemistry, or similar field. Candidates with significant experience in coatings used in flexible packaging in lieu of degree may be considered.
• 5+ years in coatings, flexible packaging, or film manufacturing, ideally within converters or film production.
• Hands-on experience with coating, laminating, converting, or film extrusion technologies.
• Strong analytical and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Effective communicator, able to engage operators through senior stakeholders.
• Proactive, self-driven, and comfortable working independently in a dynamic environment.
• Travel approximately 30% across North America to support customer trials and business development activities.

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 & hybrid work policies (depending on role), and 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 & 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 Range

The salary range for this role is $87,000-$120,000.00. 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. The Company also offers a comprehensive benefits package as described above. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, experience, education, training, and work location.