R&D Scientist

The R&D Scientist on the Industrial Wood Radiation Cure NPD team independently leads the development, localization, scale-up, validation, commercial launch, maintenance, and improvement of UV- and LED-curable coating systems. The scientist plans and executes technically rigorous experiments, interprets results, and converts findings into practical product and process solutions. The role requires broad knowledge of radiation-cure chemistry, raw materials, substrates, coating application, cure equipment, analytical methods, manufacturing, and customer finishing processes. The scientist manages multiple complex projects, works directly with cross-functional and global partners, supports customer and manufacturing trials, and mentors less experienced technical employees.

Job duties include contact with other employees and access to confidential and proprietary information and/or other items of value, and such access may be supervised or unsupervised. The Company therefore has determined that a review of criminal history is necessary to protect the business and its operations and reputation and is necessary to protect the safety of the Company’s staff, employees, and business relationships.

20% Travel

Minimum Requirements
• Must be legally authorized to work in the country for which you are applying for employment (without now or in the future needing sponsorship for employment work visa and/or permanent residence status)
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Coatings Technology, or a related STEM field. 
• 8+ years of coatings formulation and product-development experience, including independently leading technically complex projects. 
• Demonstrated formulation experience with radiation-curable coatings or inks, preferably including 100% solids UV or UV/LED systems. 
• Advanced formulation and troubleshooting of radiation-curable coatings, including structure-property-process relationships. 
• Working knowledge of UV and LED cure chemistry, photoinitiator selection, cure measurement, oxygen inhibition, depth and surface cure, and equipment/process variables. 
• Experience with coating application and testing methods relevant to Industrial Wood, such as roll coat, spray, curtain, digital print interfaces, sanding, gloss, adhesion, abrasion, scratch, stain/chemical resistance, viscosity, color, and accelerated stability. 
• Demonstrated experience with design of experiments, analyzing data, determining root cause, and converting results into clear technical decisions. 
• Experience leading product scale-up, manufacturing batches, customer trials, and commercial launch activities. 
• Experience working directly with customers and cross-functional project teams and to communicate complex technical information clearly. 
• Experience managing multiple high-priority projects, maintain complete documentation, and deliver Stage Gate and Navigator requirements on time. 
• Proven mentoring, technical leadership, and knowledge-sharing experience

Preferred Qualifications
• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Coatings Technology, or a related field.
• 10+ years of coatings formulation experience with significant radiation-cure, Industrial Wood, flooring, digital-printing, or high-speed roll-coat experience. 
• Experience with 100% solids flooring systems, digital printing/embossing, excimer, inert cure, dual-cure, waterborne UV, or exterior radiation-cure technologies. 
• Experience localizing or transferring formulations across regions, manufacturing sites, raw-material portfolios, or regulatory inventories. 
• Familiarity with DFSS, DOE, risk assessment, control plans, product requirements and critical-to-quality measures (CTQs), and the formal Stage Gate product-development process. 
• Experience with Industrial Wood customer processes and common finishing equipment, including high-speed roll-coat and multi-layer UV lines. 
• Lean Six Sigma or DFSS Green Belt certification.

Successful candidate will be required to sign an Employee Restrictive Covenant Agreement where permitted by law.

1. Safety, Compliance and Technical Stewardship
   1. Follow all safety, environmental, ISO, laboratory, and product safety and regulatory requirements; actively support safe handling of radiation-curable materials and continuous improvement of laboratory practices.
   2. Provide technical assistance for quality investigations, manufacturing issues, raw-material changes, customer complaints, and product-maintenance needs when specialized radiation-cure expertise is required.
2. Radiation Cure Product Development
   1. Lead projects through the formal product-development process (Stage Gate) from technical assessment and definition of product requirements through formulation, testing, scale-up, field validation, launch, and post-launch support.
   2. Develop and troubleshoot 100% solids, waterborne UV, UV/LED, and related radiation-cure coating systems for Industrial Wood applications, including flooring, digital printing/embossing, roll coat, and other strategic platforms.
   3. Apply strong knowledge of oligomers, monomers, photoinitiators, pigments, matting agents, additives, substrates, application methods, and cure conditions to solve complex formulation and process problems.
   4. Understand UV, LED, mercury/gallium arc, inert-atmosphere, excimer, and related cure technologies, including the interaction of spectral output, dose, irradiance, oxygen inhibition, film build, pigmentation, and line speed.
3. Experimental Design and Technical Problem Solving
   1. Design efficient experiments using DOE and sound statistical methods; identify root causes, assess risk, define controls, and make clear, data-based technical recommendations.
   2. Plan and support laboratory, pilot, plant, external-manufacturing, and customer-line trials; translate laboratory results to commercial equipment and operating conditions.
4. Scale-Up, Trials and Commercialization
   1. Lead product localization and technology transfer across regions, including raw-material qualification, regulatory review, formula adaptation, performance benchmarking, supply-chain risk assessment, and manufacturing readiness.
   2. Partner effectively with Marketing, Sales, Technical Service, Applications, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Procurement, and global R&D teams to define customer needs and deliver commercially viable solutions.
5. Cross-Functional Leadership and Documentation
   1. Communicate project status, technical risks, recommendations, and decisions clearly through laboratory notebooks, technical reports, presentations, updates in the Navigator project-tracking system, Gate reviews, and other required documentation.
   2. Develop differentiated product and platform concepts aligned with Industrial Wood market needs, business priorities, cost targets, manufacturing capability, and customer value.
   3. Exercise sound business judgment by balancing performance, safety, regulatory requirements, cost, manufacturability, supply continuity, speed to market, and customer value.
   4. Protect intellectual property and preserve the technical knowledge base through complete, accurate, and timely documentation.
6. Portfolio Leadership, Innovation and Mentoring
   1. Lead multiple technically complex projects with limited supervision, establish priorities, manage timelines, and escalate risks or resource needs early.
   2. Mentor chemists, technicians, and early-career formulators; share radiation-cure knowledge, experimental discipline, safe work practices, and troubleshooting approaches.
   3. Maintain awareness of emerging radiation-cure raw materials, equipment, analytical methods, competitive technologies, regulatory constraints, and external innovation opportunities.
   4. Maintain laboratory and application equipment, ensure appropriate calibration and documentation, and support capability development for current and future radiation-cure technologies.

Salary Frequency: Annually

Minimum Salary: $98,935.46

Maximum Salary: $126,963.19