Sr. Surface Treatment Chemist

About the role

This role focuses on formulation changes, raw-material substitutions, cost-optimization, and simple new-product development, ensuring product performance, quality, and manufacturability. The chemist will work closely with R&D, manufacturing, procurement, and technical service teams to maintain product robustness and accelerate development timelines.

Responsibilities

• Formulation Adjustments — Modify existing formulations to improve performance, reduce cost, or address supply-chain changes.
• Raw Material Qualification — Evaluate alternative suppliers, test new raw materials, and ensure compatibility with existing products.
• Simple Product Development — Develop incremental or derivative products based on customer needs or market gaps.
• Lab Testing & Validation — Conduct performance testing, stability studies, and application evaluations.
• Documentation — Maintain formulation records, test reports, and SOPs in compliance with internal quality systems.
• Scale-Up Support — Assist manufacturing teams during pilot runs and production scale-ups.
• Troubleshooting — Investigate formulation issues, quality deviations, or customer complaints.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration — Work with procurement, operations, and technical service to ensure smooth implementation of formulation changes.
• Continuous Improvement — Identify opportunities to streamline formulations, reduce complexity, or improve sustainability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field.
• 2–7 years of experience in formulation, product development, or applied chemistry.
• Hands-on experience with: formulation changes and optimization; raw-material evaluation and substitution; application testing and performance validation.
• Strong understanding of chemical interactions, stability, and compatibility.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deliver results on time.

Work environment

• Work in a laboratory and administrative office setting, with some travel as required.
• Ensure a safety mindset throughout designated area of responsibility.
• May be exposed to fumes or airborne particles and toxic or caustic chemicals.
• Occasionally exposed to work near moving mechanical parts.
• Must be able to safely work in a variety of potentially hazardous situations.
• Noise level is usually moderate.
• Regularly required to carefully and precisely manipulate samples, apparatus, and sensitive instruments.
• Frequently required to stand and reach with hands and arms.
• Occasionally required to walk, sit, and talk or hear.
• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, or no more than local or country regulations allow.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision and ability to adjust focus.