Senior Chemist, Industrial Applications - Paints & Coatings
Description
Clariant is seeking a Senior Chemist to join our Industrial Applications technical team in Mt. Holly, North Carolina, with a primary focus on Paints and Coatings. In this customer-facing role, you will lead application development, identify new product opportunities, and deliver technical solutions that address customer needs and support business growth. Working closely with Sales, Marketing, and global R&D teams, you will translate customer challenges into development projects, evaluate specialty additives in coating formulations, and support the commercialization of new solutions. Our portfolio includes wetting and dispersing agents, emulsifiers, surfactants, defoamers, surface modifiers, and other functional additives that improve coating processing, application, appearance, and performance. Interested in joining our team? Apply today—we look forward to hearing from you!
Responsibilities
- Lead application development projects focused on paints and coatings, translating customer requirements and market needs into technical solutions and new product opportunities.
- Design and execute laboratory experiments to evaluate coating performance, optimize formulations, and demonstrate the benefits of Clariant’s specialty additives.
- Benchmark Clariant products against competitive alternatives and generate technical data to support product differentiation and recommendations.
- Serve as a key technical contact for customers and commercial teams, independently investigating formulation and application challenges and recommending solutions.
- Partner with Sales and Marketing on customer visits, technical demonstrations, product evaluations, and customer trials to support new business development.
- Collaborate with global R&D teams to develop, evaluate, and adapt products for the Americas market and support commercialization.
- Independently manage technical projects from initial customer requirements through laboratory development, validation, and commercialization support.
- Coordinate laboratory testing with technicians and other team members, and provide technical guidance and mentoring to less experienced laboratory personnel.
- Present technical findings to customers and internal stakeholders, and contribute to product positioning, technical literature, customer presentations, and industry events.
- Monitor coatings technologies, regulatory trends, and emerging customer needs, and improve laboratory methods, application testing capabilities, and technical workflows.