Application Development Scientist Coatings

Job content

Responsibilities

This role is responsible for developing new products or new applications for existing products enabling industrial coatings formulators to differentiate performance, reduce cost and increase efficiency. The position reports to the EMEA coatings group leader and supports customers in the region but also operates within a global industrial team.

Job Responsibilities:

Safety:

• Comply with all corporate, division, and group safety requirements
• Demonstrate commitment to continuous safety improvement and model good safety behaviors
  
  

Technical:

• Following the stage gate process apply deep understanding of coatings and regulatory requirements to develop new products or new applications for existing products that enable coatings formulators to differentiate performance, reduce cost and increase efficiency
• Engage with customers to discover needs, match fitness for use characteristics with product offerings, and support the engagements through final commercialization.
• Determine fitness-for-use criteria for specific industrial coatings applications and reduce these to formulation characteristics using knowledge of coatings structure-process-property relationships
• Select raw materials for starting point formulations to test developmental resins, pigments, solvents, additives and other ingredients
• Provide technical support to manufacturing and QC organizations during product scale up and commercialization.
• Develop new technical literature to support new products, applications or techniques
• Establish peer level connect with universities, research institutes, co-suppliers and customers to identify potential opportunities for synergies and joint development.
• Provide regular insights on new technologies, applications and competitive solutions in the architectural coatings segment and play a key role in development of Eastman’s intellectual property strategy.
• Oversee testing of coatings to industry standards
• Support quality, health, and safety initiatives as they relate to formulation, material safety, and technical data sheets.
• Mentor and support development of technicians.
• Works closely with the European technical service team and Eastman’s customers to support them on new product launches.
  
  

Communication:

• Assess and communicate customer needs and project results to marketing, manufacturing, technology, and business partners, tailoring the communication to the audience
• Attend trade shows / technical conferences to align with market trends and establish/strengthen market connect.
• Document results accurately and in a timely manner using e-notebook, technical reports, and invention reports, as required
• Network with a cross functional team across R&D, marketing, sales and manufacturing to develop products and understand the application of these products so that they can be translated quickly from the lab to commercial scale
  
  

Qualifications

• Master/PhD in coatings, polymer science, physics, chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, or a related field
• At least 5 years of research experience working with coatings design, formulation and testing. Experience with coil, wood or protective coatings is highly desired
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Knowledge of other European languages is a plus.
• Ability to work in Ghent, Belgium
• The candidate is required to travel up to 25% of their time.