What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Application Development Scientist position at Cabot Corporation?
Your Role at Cabot:
This role is an exciting opportunity to join a multi-functional team focused on solving challenging problems in the laboratory for our customers and bringing technological innovations to the market. This is a high visibility and high responsibility position.
Key responsibilities:
How You Will Make an Impact:
How We’ll Support Your Success:
The Performance Additives R&D Coatings group has an opening for a motivated, results oriented, independent, laboratory work hands-on Lead Application Development Scientist to lead the development of solutions to customers’ technical problems and industry needs. The team focuses on developing new materials (new particles and dispersions) for coatings applications such as automotive, industrial, architectural, paper, and packaging, among others.
This role is an exciting opportunity to join a multi-functional team focused on solving challenging problems in the laboratory for our customers and bringing technological innovations to the market. This is a high visibility and high responsibility position.
Key responsibilities:
- Conduct research and development of new products, new applications, and/or updates of existing products using innovative ideas, materials, and test methods
- Design, prepare, execute, and analyze the output of practical experimental designs, in line with R&D functional standards
- Generate and develop new growth ideas within the Coatings segment, and in collaboration with the Global Market Segment Manager, support business case development for new and ongoing initiatives
- Develop understanding of Cabot’s materials use and performance in coatings formulations and liquid dispersions relevant to our customers applications
- Collaborate with other Cabot scientists and engineers on new product development projects
- Lead projects through Cabot’s Stage Gate process
- Manage the Coatings Applications Development laboratory
How You Will Make an Impact:
- Understands and defines the problem at hand in context of business needs and sets and aligns objectives with stakeholders (customers and internal). Contributes to the advancement of application, product, or process development. Anticipates internal and/or external technical or business challenges and/or regulatory issues.
- Assesses relevant process, materials and applications science in view of available toolkit and required innovation. Sets hypotheses and devises stepped technical approach to solution.
- Leads overall technical program, including coordination of technical team members and cross-functional support. Plans, schedules, conducts, and coordinates detailed phases of projects of varying scopes to safely meet objectives and timeline. Serves as mentor to other professionals.
- Conducts experiments/investigations that may involve applications, product or process design/development, testing and validation of materials. Complements experiments with the use of modeling and theory. Improves, changes or adapts existing methods and techniques and introduces new methods and techniques as appropriate. Stays current with relevant internal and external technical developments.
- Leads team to generate data, conduct advanced statistical analysis, and organize and interpret data to establish and support new process, materials, and/or application learning.
- Leads Team in preparation of appropriate reports and presentations documenting work, results, conclusions. Presents work to senior management, broad technical groups, and/or business partners.
- Proactively shares knowledge and information with others (e.g. customers, Sales/Technical Services, Marketing, R&D) through activities such as technical seminars, informational posters, white papers, etc. with the aim to advance the technical strength of the organization. May lead market introduction of new products or applications. Serves as top technical resource for customer engagement.
- Initiates and maintains contacts with key technical resources of educational institutions, technical organizations and other companies in order to stay current with emerging technology and key talent. May participate with external communities and forums, activities involving universities, conferences and others and contribute to publications.
- May be responsible for the oversight of one or more junior members of the team who have been assigned to support their project(s), to plan activities, oversee work quality, address day-to-day questions related to the project(s) being supported; provides input to the individual's manager on performance, etc.
- Adheres to all intellectual property standards throughout area of responsibility. Stays current with relevant patent literature. Identifies opportunities to capture new IP and supports the preparation of patent applications. Integrates technical and IP strategy
- Ensures safe laboratory operations, participates in scheduled safety meetings and completes safety training requirements. Creates awareness and develops technical documentation and tools to address safety topics. Sought after for their expertise in safety to participate in safety-focused activities. Contributes to investigations into safety matters through RCA and 5-whys
- Strictly follows and complies with all SH&E procedures, standards and regulations and constantly strives for Excellence in the fields of sustainability and Safety, Health and preservation of the Environment.
- Recognized and demonstrated technical and applications expertise in one or more areas of value to Cabot. Ability to provide the technical direction when others do not have the specific knowledge required. Passion for innovation, scientific discovery and experimentation; an eagerness to identify technology solutions that will bring value to Cabot and customers. Good judgment in the identification and selection of technical paths for complex technical problems; ability to make and recommend adjustments when needed. Ability to document project results to capture knowledge. Ability to leverage technical knowledge to provide input to the IP strategy and tactics.
- Ability to identify causes of and potential solutions to complex problems. Technical problem analysis in the context of the bigger picture. Judgement on feasibility of new concepts and opportunities and appropriate depth of analysis to support quality decisions. Ability to project differing points of view for the decision-making process. Able to distinguish fact from inference/assumption/hypothesis when analyzing all aspects of a project. Experimental design, modeling, data management, and analysis proficiency. Skillful data interpretation, to create knowledge.
- Experience and knowledge in the critical aspects of project management.
- Significant hands-on experience in Coatings, knowledge of Coatings formulation Chemistry and Coatings Industry are important for this position.
- Experience with particles dispersions (preparation methods, processing, and formulations) and knowledge of Colloidal chemistry are significant pluses.
- Ph.D. in Chemistry, Material Science or Engineering or equivalent with 6 years of experience in product/applications development related to customer products, OR
- Master’s Degree in a related technical discipline and generally 10 years of related experience, OR
- Post-secondary degree (Bachelor’s/University) in related technical discipline and generally 12 years of related experience.
- Experience managing customer interactions/relationships in a Technology environment (for purposes of product/application development) highly desirable and may be required for select roles.
How We’ll Support Your Success:
- Dynamic, Flexible, Hard Working, Team Environment – We are busy, collaborative, growing, and we are doing really meaningful work.
- Growth – One of our goals is to become the world leading player in conductive carbon additives for battery applications. Great training, great peer coaching and support, and the ability to personally grow your influence, your position, and your compensation.
- Meaningful Work that is Valued – battery materials is on an exciting growth journey. The work we do is visible, and is helping to create a more sustainable and greener future for the society. It is an awesome feeling to know you’re making a living by making a positive impact in the world; and to be able to say, “I was a part of that.”
- Benefits, Vacation, Etc. – We offer a competitive package of benefits.
- Feedback – we are committed to giving and receiving feedback in a direct and open fashion.
- Support – you are part of a team and deserve to feel encouraged and supported. You will be part of a team that cares about you personally and professionally. Our success depends on your success.
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