Color Management Lead

Dandy is transforming the massive and antiquated dental industry—an industry worth over $200B. Backed by some of the world’s leading venture capital firms, we’re on an ambitious mission to simplify and modernize every function of the dental practice through technology. As we expand our reach globally, Dandy is building the operating system for dental offices around the world—empowering clinicians and their teams with technology, innovation, and world-class support to achieve more for their practices, their people, and their patients.

About the Role

We are seeking a Color Management Lead to be the single-threaded owner of color at Dandy. In this role, you will architect and own the entire color management system for our prosthetic workflows—covering everything from scientific modeling and measurement through to production-scale implementation and quality control.

You will be responsible for establishing a robust color management framework that connects ink formulation, ceramic substrates, print hardware, software calibration, and production QC. As both a technical authority and cross-functional leader, you’ll ensure that color accuracy, consistency, and scalability become embedded across R&D and operations.

What You’ll Do

Develop and Own Color Management Systems

• Architect the end-to-end color management workflow for ceramic inkjet printing on zirconia and other dental ceramics.
  

• Design and maintain color calibration pipelines—from device characterization (printers, spectrophotometers, imaging systems) to color transforms and ICC-like profiles.
  

• Translate dental shade systems (Vita Classical, Vita 3D-Master, Noritake CZR) into digital color spaces and ensure faithful reproduction in final restorations.
  

• Build predictive models for how inks behave after firing (taking into account organics burnoff, sintering shrinkage, and glaze interactions).
  

Measurement and Characterization

• Establish standardized measurement protocols using spectrophotometry, hyperspectral imaging, and digital microscopy.
  

• Create and maintain master reference libraries for shades, translucency, and surface finish.
  

• Quantify color difference tolerances (ΔE, ΔE00) appropriate for dental applications and implement statistical QC limits.
  

• Characterize how substrates (zirconia, glass-ceramic, polymers) and processing conditions influence final appearance.
  

R&D and Process Integration

• Partner with ink formulation chemists to ensure pigments, dispersions, and solvents are optimized for color fidelity.
  

• Collaborate with hardware engineers to integrate color calibration into printhead design, droplet control, and deposition strategies.
  

• Work closely with ceramic process engineers to ensure firing programs yield stable, reproducible colors across furnaces and production runs.
  

• Lead experimental design (DoE) for color R&D projects, documenting learnings in ways that transfer to scalable production.
  

Production Quality and Scaling

• Define and roll out incoming QC standards for pigments, inks, and ceramic blanks to ensure batch-to-batch color stability.
  

• Develop real-time monitoring and corrective systems for production, flagging deviations before they reach the patient.
  

• Build feedback loops between R&D and manufacturing so color data continuously improves system performance.
  

• Train production teams on color measurement protocols, equipment use, and acceptance criteria.
  

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the internal subject matter expert for all topics related to color, interfacing with executives, clinicians, and external partners.
  

• Communicate complex color science concepts in clear, actionable ways to non-specialists.
  

• Represent Dandy in conversations with material suppliers, shade guide manufacturers, and dental educators.
  

• Build an internal knowledge base to scale color expertise across the organization.
  

What We’re Looking For

• Education: PhD or MS in Color Science, Applied Physics, Materials Science, Imaging Science, or related field.
  

• Experience: 3–7+ years of hands-on work in color management systems, ideally in ceramics, inks, coatings, imaging, or advanced printing.
  

• Technical Expertise:
  

  • Deep knowledge of colorimetry, color appearance models (CIE Lab*, CIECAM02, CAM16), and device profiling.
    

  • Proficiency in building and validating color transforms, ICC profiles, or equivalent systems.
    

  • Practical experience with spectrophotometers, imaging colorimeters, and shade-matching devices.
    

  • Familiarity with ceramic systems, firing dynamics, or inkjet processes strongly preferred.
    

• Industry Insight:
  

  • Understanding of dental shade standards (Vita, Noritake, 3D-Master) highly desirable.
    

  • Experience working with pigment/ink formulation and knowledge of how substrates affect final color.
    

• Software & Tools:
  

  • Strong computational background (Python, MATLAB, or R) for modeling and data analysis.
    

  • Experience with color management software such as ProfileMaker, BabelColor, X-Rite tools.
    

• Mindset:
  

  • Comfortable operating as the single-threaded owner of a mission-critical function.
    

  • Able to switch between strategic system-building and hands-on lab experimentation.
    

  • Strong communicator who can bridge science, engineering, and production.
    

Why Join Us

At Dandy, we are reimagining the dental lab from the ground up—bringing together automation, software, and advanced materials to create the future of prosthetics manufacturing. Color is the final frontier in making restorations indistinguishable from natural teeth, and you will be the architect of our solution.

Req ID: J-699

For full-time positions, Dandy offers a wide range of best-in-class, comprehensive, and inclusive benefits tailored to each country where we operate. Our local benefits packages typically include healthcare, dental, mental health support, parental planning resources, retirement savings options, and generous paid time off—ensuring our team members are supported no matter where they live and work.

Dandy is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture that celebrates authenticity to win as one. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, citizenship or immigration status, or any other legally protected characteristics.

Dandy also fully complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We are dedicated to embracing challenges and creating an accessible, inclusive workplace for all individuals. If you require any accommodations for your interview or have any questions beforehand, rest assured that we will do everything we can to meet your needs. Visit Dandy Careers for more!