Lab Technician – Adhesives & Materials Testing
Location: Auburn Hills, MI 48326
Pay: Up to $25.50/hour
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Job Type: 12-month contract with possible extension or temp-to-hire
Job Overview
AllSTEM Connections is seeking a Lab Technician to support adhesive product development, testing, and scale-up in an industrial R&D laboratory. This role will work closely with chemists, lab technicians, customers, suppliers, and internal teams to assist with new product development and existing product maintenance.
The ideal candidate will have hands-on laboratory experience in an industrial, R&D, chemical, materials, adhesives, polymers, coatings, or related environment. This position involves preparing adhesive batches, conducting lab testing, documenting results, maintaining lab equipment, and supporting product quality and performance requirements.
Responsibilities
- Prepare adhesive and prepolymer batches according to lab procedures and project requirements.
- Weigh raw materials and charge them into mixers.
- Scrape mixer bowls, remove adhesive materials, and clean mixers after use.
- Transfer, package, label, and condition samples in appropriate containers and environments.
- Conduct lab testing on paste adhesives, cured elastomers, structural adhesives, and related materials.
- Perform liquid property testing, including viscosity, rheology, and sag panel testing.
- Apply adhesives to substrates using manual or automated caulking guns.
- Perform mechanical and performance testing such as lap shear, quick knife, dispense force, and related tests.
- Organize and prepare substrates for testing.
- Collect, analyze, and document lab data accurately.
- Use an Electronic Lab Notebook to document daily work, test plans, results, and observations.
- Support scale-up activities by working with chemists and production teams.
- Evaluate new raw materials, components, or formulations.
- Maintain lab equipment and support equipment readiness.
- Assist with inventory, ordering, organizing, and distributing lab materials.
- Keep lab benches and work areas clean, organized, and safe.
- Conduct and document health and safety audits as needed.
- Follow environmental, health, and safety procedures at all times.
Qualifications
- Associate’s degree in a STEM field required.
- Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Technology, Polymer Science, Engineering, or a related STEM field preferred.
- Previous laboratory experience in an industrial, R&D, chemical, materials, adhesives, coatings, polymers, or manufacturing lab environment required.
- Experience with adhesives, polymers, elastomers, coatings, sealants, resins, or formulation work is preferred.
- Ability to accurately weigh, mix, batch, package, and document materials.
- Comfortable working with lab equipment, mixers, raw materials, substrates, and testing instruments.
- Ability to learn and operate analytical instruments such as FTIR, DSC, DMA, or TGA.
- Strong attention to detail, organization, and safety awareness.
- Comfortable entering data and performing basic analysis in Excel, including sum, average, and standard deviation.
- Ability to identify abnormal data or testing inconsistencies.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and Teams.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced lab environment.
- Must be able to regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to 40 pounds.
- Must be comfortable with daily lifting and moving of pails up to 50 pounds.
Preferred Experience
- Adhesive formulation or testing
- Polymer or materials testing
- Industrial R&D laboratory work
- Viscosity or rheology testing
- FTIR, DSC, DMA, or TGA
- Mechanical testing of cured materials
- Electronic Lab Notebook documentation
- Lab safety, EHS, or chemical handling experience
Work Location
This position is onsite in Auburn Hills, MI.
Pay: $24.00 - $25.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
