R&D Chemist - UV Liquid Ink Formulation

If you've spent years formulating UV inks and coatings and you're ready to take on more ownership, this is the role where your bench work actually moves markets.

Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, one of North America's top three ink manufacturers, a $1B+ global company with R&D facilities and production operations across the US, Europe, and South America. Their UV liquid division supports flexible packaging, commercial printing, and digital applications at scale. This is a full-time, onsite role based in West Chicago, Illinois.

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The R&D team here is one of the most experienced ink chemistry groups in the industry. One in three chemists on this team has over 15 years of experience. That means you're not walking into a training ground; you're joining a knowledge-dense group that will challenge you technically from day one.

You'll have room to own projects from ideation through customer delivery. The hiring manager described it clearly: they want someone who can take a project and run with it, not someone who needs direction at every step. If that's how you work best, this is your environment.

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You'll join the UV Liquid R&D team at a state-of-the-art R&D center in West Chicago. The team operates collaboratively but with a high degree of individual autonomy. You'll work directly with manufacturing, sales, and customers, giving you visibility across the full product lifecycle, not just the lab.

This role is part of a business unit experiencing significant growth in flexible packaging, which means new project work is constant and your contributions will have direct commercial impact.

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• Develop new UV Flexographic and UV Screen Ink technologies based on evolving customer needs and market trends

• Handle EB Liquid formulation projects and UV/EB Coatings development for packaging applications

• Troubleshoot technical issues with existing UV ink technologies and provide direct customer support

• Evaluate raw materials and optimize formulations to identify cost-savings opportunities

• Conduct analytical testing using GC, GC/MS, FTIR, Karl Fischer, and related instrumentation

• Provide technical support to manufacturing during scale-up and production runs

• Publish project reports and technical documents directly to sales teams and customers

• Maintain lab equipment and ensure accurate documentation in SAP and related systems

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• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or closely related field

• 5+ years of hands-on formulation experience in inks, coatings, or a closely related field

• Direct experience with UV/EB curable chemistries, UV Flexo, or UV Screen inks

• Solid understanding of photopolymerization, resin chemistry, pigment dispersions, and rheology

• Strong communication skills with the ability to work directly with customers and manufacturing teams

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• Background from ink industry companies (Sun Chemical, Flint Group, Siegwerk, Toyo Ink, or similar)

• Experience with paint or industrial coatings and an interest in transitioning into inks

• SAP experience

• Low migration or food-contact ink expertise

• Customer-facing or technical service experience alongside bench work

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: Competitive (commensurate with experience)

: Full-time, onsite, West Chicago, IL

: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, pet insurance, HSA and FSA

: 401(k)

: Paid Volunteer Time Off and Paid Parental Leave included

: New office space and new lab equipment at a state-of-the-art R&D center

: Average employee tenure of 12 years; this is a company people stay at

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Interested? Apply via LinkedIn and we'll be in touch. Confidential search; your application is fully private.

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