PVC Chemist

Position Summary

The PVC Chemist develops, improves, and supports PVC plastisol products for the automotive industry, including underbody coatings, seam sealers, anti-chip coatings, and sound deadeners. The role also supports water-based coatings and rubber-based adhesives and sealants. It covers formulation, testing, scale-up, OEM approvals, and technical support for customers and production.

Responsibilities

PVC plastisol formulation

• Formulates and optimizes PVC plastisols for automotive underbody coatings, seam sealers, anti-chip coatings, and sound deadeners.
• Selects and balances PVC resins, plasticizers (including non-phthalate alternatives), fillers, stabilizers, adhesion promoters, and rheology modifiers.
• Controls viscosity, sag resistance, and pumpability for robotic and airless spray application.
• Designs formulations for proper gelation and fusion within OEM paint-shop oven bake windows, including adhesion over e-coat and oily metal.

Other formulation

• Formulates water-based coatings, including sound deadeners and underbody materials.
• Formulates rubber-based adhesives and sealants.

Testing and approvals

• Runs routine and investigative testing, including viscosity and rheology, gel and fusion behavior, adhesion, chip resistance, corrosion and salt spray, and heat and cold aging.
• Tests products to automotive OEM specifications and manages the approval process with OEMs.
• Applies and interprets standard scientific theories, concepts, and techniques.

Raw materials and production

• Finds and qualifies alternative raw materials, including plasticizer and resin substitutions.
• Scales up new and modified formulations from lab to production.
• Troubleshoots production and customer issues, such as viscosity drift, poor gelation, blistering, and adhesion failures.

Compliance

• Ensures formulations comply with applicable regulations and customer requirements, including DOT, TSCA, REACH, Prop 65, OEM restricted-substance lists, and IMDS reporting.

Communication and leadership

• Writes technical reports and prepares and presents project reports to customers and project sponsors.
• Participates in trade shows, conferences, and technical seminars.
• Guides and mentors less experienced technical staff.
• Works with technical staff, sales, business managers, and the outside technical community.
• Maintains a lab notebook according to company standards.
• All other duties as assigned.