Title:  Sr. Innovation Chemist - Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers (CASE)

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Start your career journey with Univar Solutions!  Here you can make an impact on the world around you and accelerate your career in areas that energize and excite you. 

As a Sr. Innovation Chemist, you will assist with product development and innovation applications. You will translate trends into manufacturable products through innovative concepts and work with our key suppliers featuring their ingredients in specific applications while also working to solve formulation problems using these ingredients for key customer projects. With a curiosity for consumer demand and trends, you will build project scopes of work, develop new methods and/or use established methods and procedures and laboratory equipment to perform customized testing and generate sophisticated specialty formulations, blends, and prototype products that are stable and market-ready.

What You’ll Do

• Under the guidance of a Technical Service Manager, you will develop new consumer products or formulations, from the concept phase through to customer presentation.

• Develop new product prototypes to demonstrate ingredient function and aid in the sales process.

• Showcase new products at industry tradeshows and on digital platforms, and visit customers alongside the sales, marketing, and product management teams to develop new business opportunities and support existing accounts.

• Prioritize and conduct comparative studies and material benchmarking, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, including Marketing, Product Managers, and Sales Managers.

• Plan, prioritize and complete tasks while maintaining accurate and complete records and results for review. An eye for detail and dedication to technical precision is essential.

• Sets up, calibrates, operates, and performs minor maintenance and repair of various laboratory instruments and equipment, focusing on optimizing instrument performance.

• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work area, including the cleaning of equipment and work surfaces.

• Manage a pipeline of projects within a Stage and Gate process to help expedite customer commercialization of new formulation innovations.

What You’ll Need

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, or related scientific field.

• Successful experience (5 years minimum) as a scientist/formulator/chemist, working in a laboratory, skilled in chemical product formulations in the Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers (CASE) industry.

• Proficient in the development and preparation of chemical products/formulation innovations.

• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative analysis methods and techniques, good laboratory practices and safe use of hazardous chemicals, research methods and use of computer equipment and applications related to the work (word processing, data analysis & spreadsheet software, presentation software).

Physical Requirements (These requirements ensure safe and accurate work in our lab environment) - To perform this role effectively, the employee will need to:

• Communicate clearly and actively, including speaking and hearing.

• Stand, walk, and move around the lab regularly.

• Use hands for precise work, including handling tools, equipment, and samples.

• Reach, balance, bend, kneel, and crouch as needed to work with lab materials and occasionally lift or move items up to 25 pounds.

• Rely on specific vision skills, such as close and distance vision, color identification, depth perception, and adjusting focus.

Where You'll Work

This is an on-site opportunity. Our Univar Solutions: Custom Lab Services is in Houston, TX. Preference for candidates located in the area.

Univar Solutions is a leading, global distributor of chemicals and ingredients essential to the safety, health, and well-being of our daily lives from life-saving medicines and vitamins to hand sanitizers and industrial materials used for cleaning, construction, and more.  Our team of more than 10,000 employees supports our vision to redefine distribution and be the most valued chemical and ingredient distributor in the world!

We offer a Total Rewards package that includes market-aligned pay and incentives as well as a diverse benefit offering to support our employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being.

Univar Solutions supports sustainable solutions for the world around us so that we can do our part to help keep our communities healthy, fed, clean, and safe! 

We are committed to a diverse workforce and a culture of inclusion.  Together, we are building a culture that acknowledges the unique experiences, perspectives and expertise of individuals and provides the development and growth opportunities to empower us to redefine our industry. 

Univar Solutions is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected classification.

Univar Solutions does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or staffing firms (collectively Recruiting Firms). Recruiting Firms must enter into a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with Univar Solutions prior to submitting any information relating to a potential candidate. All searches must be initiated by Univar Solutions' Talent Acquisition team and candidates must be submitted via Applicant Tracking System (ATS) by approved vendors who have been expressly requested to make a submission for a specific job opening. No placement fees will be paid to any firm unless the aforementioned conditions have been met. Contacting our hiring managers directly is prohibited.

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