R & D Scientist

SUMMARY

The R & D Scientist should be a highly motivated individual with 5+ years of R&D, or a BS, preferably MS, in chemistry or a relevant discipline.  The R & D Scientist will work closely with other Scientists and Engineers to effectively scale and commercialize new PVC, plastisol, isocyanate, polyurethane, other polymeric coatings, and adhesive fabric composite systems.   Experience in liquid (plastisol) and hot-melt compounding formulation at a lab- or pilot-scale and procedures to produce, apply, and test new compound formulas effectively and reproducibly is preferred.  Alternatively, considerations may be made for those demonstrating competency and familiarity in an application-, undergraduate-, or graduate-laboratory setting and their common instrumentation.  The R & D Scientist will be required to conduct practical experiments in the areas of chemical formulation, polymer chemistry, rapid prototyping, and/or materials science to create composite materials for product development and application testing. The Individual will support product development activities by developing new formulations to meet customer and market needs.  This individual will take guidance and direction from the Scientists, Engineers, and/or Research Manager in Technology, and will work as a cross-functional team member with sales, marketing, and product management to understand and quantify customer unmet needs and to develop commercial solutions.  This person will be a valued member of the Technology team and will be expected to provide data-driven status-updates and research progress based upon the learnings he/she develops from practical experimentation.  

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Research and Development

• Work with R&D Manager and other Scientists to plan and prioritize experiments for R&D projects.
• Follow formulation procedures to formulate, apply, and test materials to required quality standards safely and reproducibly.
• Develop and produce sample quantities of materials for product development and application testing.
• Collect data and create reports/updates to advance research plans in a timely manner.
• Maintain laboratory notebooks and other records as required.
• Research new methods to improve safety, efficiency, reproducibility, cost, and scalability of          developmental products.
• Protect intellectual property through patent applications and communicate relevant technical data   through presentations at external customers’ sites.
• Represent company at industry events.
• Work with process engineers and manufacturing to scale new products in production.

Laboratory Safety and Upkeep

• Participate in safety committees and safety auditing process.
• Maintain housekeeping to the established standard which provides a safe and efficient work environment.
• Maintain prototyping and analytical equipment to reliable performance and visibly pleasing standards.

Exploratory Work and Innovation Pipeline Development

• Research and develop new product concepts based on current and developing Seaman technology platforms.

 
EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

• BS/MS Chemistry (organic, polymer, analytical, materials science) or chemical engineering
• 5+ years of R&D experience preferred
• Strong problem-solving and trouble-shooting skills a must
• Ability to design DOEs and Data acquisition plans to drive iterative technical development is a must.
• Ability to analyze complex data sets to identify the most important variables.
• Ability to organize and clearly communicate technical information is a must.
• Experience in formulation of plastisol and dry blend PVC preferred.
• Experience and exposure to product development a plus