About Jetpack
At Jetpack, innovation moves fast. We partner with some of the fastest-growing brands in the nutraceutical and personal care industries to bring new products from concept to commercialization. As we continue to expand our R&D capabilities, we are creating a new leadership role focused on wet-chemistry formulation and product innovation.
If you're passionate about developing cutting-edge products, solving complex formulation challenges, and seeing your ideas come to life on the manufacturing floor, this is an opportunity to make a significant impact while helping shape the future of our R&D department.
Position Summary
The Senior Research & Development Specialist – Wet Chemistry is a senior technical contributor responsible for the formulation, development, commercialization, and technical support of innovative nutraceutical and personal care products. This role specializes in wet chemistry systems, including gummies, tinctures, liquid dietary supplements, creams, lotions, serums, balms, gels, and other cosmetic formulations.
This position owns projects from initial feasibility through commercial launch and post-launch support while serving as the technical expert for formulation development, stability programs, and manufacturing scale-up. The ideal candidate enjoys solving formulation challenges, collaborating across departments, and driving innovation in a fast-paced contract manufacturing environment.
What You'll Do
Lead Product Development
- Formulate innovative water-based and oil-based nutraceutical and cosmetic products.
- Develop formulations that meet customer objectives while maintaining manufacturability, quality, stability, and regulatory compliance.
- Create and optimize formulations for:
- Gummies Tinctures
- Liquid supplements Creams
- Lotions Balms
- Gels Serums
- Cleansers Surfactant-based systems
- Evaluate ingredient compatibility, functionality, and performance.
- Develop mixing instructions, processing parameters, and manufacturing specifications.
- Produce laboratory samples for customer evaluation and approval.
Own R&D Projects
- Lead assigned development projects from concept through commercialization.
- Create project timelines and development plans.
- Conduct technical feasibility reviews and formulation risk assessments.
- Develop bench-scale prototypes and optimize formulations for manufacturing.
- Support manufacturing trials and commercial scale-up.
- Provide post-launch technical support for customers and internal teams.
- Recommend go/no-go decisions based on:
- Formula complexity
- Equipment capabilities
- Manufacturing readiness
- Ingredient availability
- Regulatory considerations
Cosmetic Formulation Expertise
Serve as Jetpack's subject matter expert for cosmetic formulation by:
- Developing oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions.
- Designing creams, lotions, balms, gels, serums, cleansers, and other personal care products.
- Selecting and optimizing:
- Emulsifiers Rheology modifiers
- Preservatives Humectants
- Emollients Oils
- Waxes Butters
- Surfactants pH adjustment systems
- Troubleshooting formulation stability, viscosity, texture, separation, appearance, and preservative performance.
- Researching emerging cosmetic ingredients and recommending innovative solutions.
Laboratory Testing & Product Evaluation
Conduct comprehensive bench testing and product characterization, including:
- pH
- Viscosity
- Brix
- Specific Gravity
- Gel Strength
- Appearance
- Texture
- Taste
- Color
- Aroma
- Organoleptic evaluations
Additional responsibilities include:
- Developing in-process testing requirements.
- Creating finished product specifications.
- Recommending purity testing methodologies.
- Identifying ingredient interactions and analytical interferences.
- Supporting method development for quality testing.
Stability Program Management
Lead Jetpack's stability testing program by:
- Developing and maintaining real-time and accelerated stability studies.
- Managing stability protocols for dietary supplements and cosmetic bases.
- Operating and monitoring environmental stability chambers.
- Coordinating scheduled sample pulls.
- Preparing samples for analytical and microbiological testing.
- Reviewing stability data to establish and validate product shelf life.
- Maintaining stability documentation and technical reports.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partner closely with:
- Accounts
- Quality
- Purchasing
- Manufacturing
- Operations
- Supply Chain
Responsibilities include:
- Communicating technical project updates.
- Identifying formulation risks and manufacturing concerns.
- Supporting customer requests.
- Troubleshooting production issues.
- Assisting with successful product launches.
- Ensuring customer expectations align with manufacturing capabilities.
Documentation & Compliance
Maintain complete technical documentation, including:
- Formulations
- Bench notebooks
- Batch records
- Development reports
- Specifications
- Stability protocols
- Scale-up documentation
- Ingredient evaluations
Ensure all products comply with:
- FDA regulations
- cGMP requirements
- Internal quality standards
- Customer specifications
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Biochemistry, Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Cosmetic Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related scientific discipline required.
- Project Management or Continuous Improvement certifications are a plus.
Experience
- Minimum 5 years of progressive Research & Development experience in nutraceuticals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, or another regulated manufacturing environment.
- Direct experience developing:
- Oil-in-water emulsions
- Water-in-oil emulsions
- Surfactant-based systems
- Experience formulating creams, lotions, balms, serums, gels, cleansers, or related personal care products.
- Experience developing liquid dietary supplements, tinctures, gummies, or similar wet chemistry products is preferred.
- Experience within a private label or contract manufacturing environment strongly preferred.
- Experience supporting manufacturing scale-up and commercialization.
Preferred Knowledge & Skills
- Strong understanding of formulation chemistry and ingredient functionality.
- Working knowledge of cGMP, FDA regulations, and quality systems.
- Experience with laboratory analytical testing methods.
- Familiarity with manufacturing equipment and production processes.
- Excellent project management and organizational skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects with competing priorities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to communicate technical concepts to both scientific and non-technical audiences.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, ERP systems, AI productivity tools, and project management software.
What Makes You Successful
You are someone who:
- Thinks creatively while making data-driven decisions.
- Enjoys solving complex formulation challenges.
- Takes ownership from concept through commercialization.
- Thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
- Builds strong partnerships across departments.
- Has a passion for innovation and continuous improvement.
- Takes pride in developing products that customers love and manufacturing can consistently produce.
Why Join Jetpack?
This is more than a formulation role—it's an opportunity to help build the future of innovation at Jetpack. As our Senior Research & Development Specialist – Wet Chemistry, you'll work with a talented team to develop next-generation nutraceutical and personal care products for leading brands while helping establish new technical capabilities, processes, and standards within our growing R&D organization.
If you're excited about creating products from idea to launch and want to make a lasting impact in a company that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement, we'd love to meet you.
Pay: $80,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
