Skin Care, Cosmetic & Personal Care R&D Chemist

Responsibilities:
Understand materials and technologies and develop formulations to demonstrate the benefits and applications of these materials and technologies.
Perform customer focused formulation work based on sales/customer request. Create solutions through creativity and resourcefulness. Reformulate and resubmit based on feedback.
Maintain focus on application and formulation of personal care products (color/skin/hair care).
Develop detailed lab scale process for success. This includes order of addition, critical raw materials and processing parameters, bench standard and benchmark, and lab scale preliminary specification and test results.
Create new raw material applications and formulations as well as new consumer end product applications and formulations.
Maintain continuous improvement of existing raw material applications and formulations.
Develop technical methodologies and out of the box thinking for illustrating proof of concept.
Provide technical support to sales staff and customer; participate on account teams and teleconferences
Participate in training of distributors/customers with the ability to conduct the training when needed.
Prepare and present technical presentations on independent research projects.
Work closely with junior chemists and technicians to teach, coordinate, and collaborate on projects leading to well-planned and executed bench work and successful sample submissions.
Understand competitive environments in silicone and other raw material technologies and maintain awareness of industry trends.
Meet with raw material vendors to learn about new technologies and new raw materials that can be utilized to create/improve innovative technology offerings.
Collaborate as a key team member contributing innovative ideas, expertise, knowledge, and experiences with a strong team spirit.
Perform other duties as assigned by the manager.

Education & Experience:
Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry is strongly preferred but will consider other science related degrees.
5+ years experience of formulating O/W and W/O emulsions. Preferably skin care and/or color cosmetic emulsions.
In-depth experience managing product development from inception through testing to scale-up and some experience with reverse engineering to match a product benchmark.
Hair care (shampoos, conditioners) and hair styling (creams, pomades, gels, lotions) formulation experience is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
Read and interpret written instructions and analyze data.
Strong scientific summarizing skills (experimental results and call reports).
Ability to evaluate formulas, interpret results and communicate improvements.
Proficient with operating the following instrumentation: viscometer, pH meter, homogenizer, and microscope.
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills.
Work effectively as a leader and within a team environment.
Ability to present in both a large and small public presentation setting.
Function as a team member in a closely knit group.
Provide technical advice, support, guidance and development to less experienced team members.
Driven, detail oriented, self-starter able to handle challenging technical business needs and opportunities.
Ability to multi-task and work independently with limited supervision.
Independent thinker capable of working in a collaborative environment.
Identify and eliminate potential problem areas with out of the box thinking style.