The Senior Innovation Chemist is a strategic, technically driven role responsible for leading a team of Innovation Chemists under the guidance of the Director of R&D to accelerate innovation execution, strengthen the company's innovation pipeline, and elevate the visibility of R&D as a driver of business growth and competitive differentiation.
This position serves as a critical link between market trends, emerging technologies, customer needs, and product development, translating innovation opportunities into commercially viable products that attract new customers and expand existing partnerships.
The role provides day-to-day support to a team of Innovation Chemists, Junior Chemists, and Technicians to improve productivity and advance the company's innovation goals. This position works closely with the Director of R&D to uphold safety, maintain laboratory cohesion, and ensure all products meet internal safety, regulatory, and quality requirements.
The ideal candidate combines deep formulation expertise with innovation leadership, bringing the ability to identify emerging opportunities, guide concept-to-commercialization efforts, strengthen product competitiveness, and position R&D as a strategic growth engine for the organization.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
Formula Development & Innovation
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Lead development of innovative cosmetic and personal care formulations driven by market trends, benchmark products, customer briefs, emerging ingredients, and new product concepts.
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Translate innovation opportunities into commercially viable products through proof-of-concept development, reverse engineering, formula optimization, cost engineering, and adaptation for manufacturing readiness.
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Develop trend-based, seasonal, platform, and ingredient showcase concepts that support innovation strategy, customer engagement, and pipeline expansion.
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Evaluate new raw materials, alternate ingredients, supplier technologies, and fragrance opportunities to enhance product performance, support continuity, and strengthen the innovation pipeline.
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Maintain awareness of global beauty trends, consumer insights, sustainability priorities, regulatory developments, and ingredient innovation to identify new formulation opportunities.
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Maintain laboratory readiness through effective raw material inventory management, equipment maintenance, documentation, and adherence to cGMP, safety, regulatory, and quality requirements.
Formula Enhancement & Cost Engineering
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Lead formulations enhancement initiatives that improve product performance, aesthetics, claims support, manufacturability, and competitive positioning.
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Lead cost-reduction and reformulation initiatives without compromising product quality, performance, or customer expectations.
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Work with internal teams (Regulatory, Purchasing) and external partners (suppliers, manufacturers) to identify alternate raw materials and technologies that improve supply chain resilience and overall cost structure.
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Support reformulation efforts related to raw material discontinuations, regulatory changes, sustainability goals, supply challenges, and portfolio-wide cost-saving initiatives.
Customer-Facing Innovation Support
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Serve as a technical innovation resource during customer visits, ideation sessions, and innovation workshops.
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Present innovation concepts, trend insights, technology platforms, and formulation showcases in a clear and compelling manner.
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Support development of presentations, concept boards, technical narratives, and related materials used in customer-facing innovation initiatives.
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Strengthen the company's position as a preferred innovation partner through proactive engagement, strategic collaboration, and solution-oriented support.
Innovation Leadership & Visibility
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Elevate the visibility of R&D internally and externally through innovation initiatives, customer presentations, technical content, and strategic showcases.
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Support development of innovation articles, newsletters, trade show concepts, technology demonstrations, and other materials that highlight the company's capabilities.
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Build strong supplier partnerships to gain early access to emerging technologies and ingredients.
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Represent the company at industry conferences, supplier innovation events, technical seminars, and trade shows as needed.
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Champion a culture of innovation, collaboration, continuous improvement, and commercial accountability across the organization.
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Strong formulation expertise across hair care, skin care, body care, and OTC products.
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Strong working knowledge of surfactant systems, emulsions, rheology modifiers, preservative systems, active ingredients, and fragrance technologies.
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Strong understanding of regulatory requirements for cosmetic, personal care, and OTC products.
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Ability to evaluate ingredient technologies and substantiate product claims.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Project.
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Ability to manage multiple priorities and shift focus quickly as business needs evolve.
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Demonstrated leadership ability to supervise, mentor, and develop R&D Innovation Chemists.
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Strong mathematical, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
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Highly creative and strategic thinker with an innovation-focused mindset and strong commercial awareness.
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Executive presence with strong presentation, storytelling, and customer engagement skills.
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Ability to influence cross-functional teams and align technical priorities with business objectives.
- Self-starter capable of identifying opportunities without direct supervision.
- Passion for beauty, wellness, and consumer product innovation.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
Provide leadership, coaching, development to a team of Innovation Chemists and technicians, fostering technical excellence, accountability, and innovation capability.
This role supports products and processes that scale to commercial manufacturing. Errors may result in compliance risks, quality issues, production delays, or customer impact. A high level of accuracy and attention to detail is essential.
Combination of office, laboratory, and manufacturing floor environments. Employees may be exposed to fumes, airborne particles, and occasionally moving mechanical parts or chemicals. Noise levels are typically low to moderate. Appropriate safety protocols must always be followed.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS-
Ability to sit, stand, and perform routine office and laboratory tasks
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Occasional walking, bending, kneeling, and stooping
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Ability to distinguish colors and detect odors as required for product evaluation
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Ability to regularly lift up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.
POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK-
This is a full-time 1st shift role. Standard workdays are Monday through Friday, with a typical 8-hour shift.
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It may be occasionally necessary to work longer than the standard 8-hour shift during special pilot, scale-up, or production batching.
TRAVEL-
Travel is not typically required for this position; however, occasional travel to client sites or off-site events may be needed.
REQUIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE-
Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year institution in chemistry, formulation (cosmetic) science, chemical engineering, biochemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, or a related scientific field.
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4–5+ years of laboratory experience formulating cosmetic, personal care, and OTC products.
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Proven track record of developing innovative consumer products.
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Experience with trend-driven product development.
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Demonstrated success in formulation optimization and cost engineering initiatives.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS-
Master's degree in Formulation (Cosmetic) Sciences or related scientific discipline is preferred.
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Experience in a contract manufacturing or brand environment is preferred.
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ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY QUALIFICATIONS
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Proficiency in written and spoken English, including grammar, composition, and technical writing.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)-
Annual volume of proactive innovation concepts generated
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Innovation projects converted into customer opportunities
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New business generated from innovation initiatives
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Growth and Quality of the innovation pipeline
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Cost savings achieved through formula optimization
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Margin improvement from cost engineering projects
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Number of successful formula upgrades completed
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Customer engagement through innovation presentations and workshops
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Innovation workshops supported
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Customer adoption rate of innovation concepts
