R&D Chemist I

Position Summary

The R&D Chemist I is responsible for the formulation, development, evaluation, and commercialization of cosmetic and personal care products. This role requires hands-on experience developing and optimizing formulations across multiple product categories, including skin care, hair care, body care, fragrance, OTC, and color cosmetics. The Chemist will support new product innovation, reformulation initiatives, scale-up activities, raw material evaluations, and manufacturing support while ensuring compliance with regulatory and customer requirements.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop, formulate, and optimize cosmetic and personal care products from concept through commercialization.
• Create innovative formulations for skin care, hair care, bath and body, fragrance, OTC, and other personal care products.
• Conduct bench-scale formulation work involving emulsions, suspensions, surfactant systems, gels, creams, lotions, waxes, and anhydrous products.
• Reverse engineer competitive products and develop equivalent or improved formulations.
• Evaluate new raw materials, technologies, and ingredient trends for product development opportunities.
• Prepare laboratory batches and accurately document formulas, procedures, observations, and results.
• Conduct stability, compatibility, and performance testing on formulations.
• Troubleshoot formulation, stability, and manufacturing challenges and recommend corrective actions.
• Support pilot, validation, and commercial production batches and provide technical guidance during scale-up activities.
• Collaborate closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Purchasing, Project Management, and Sales teams to ensure successful product launches.
• Review ingredient declarations and support creation of product specifications and technical documentation.
• Ensure formulations comply with applicable regulatory requirements, customer standards, and internal quality expectations.
• Participate in customer meetings, technical presentations, and formulation reviews when required.
• Maintain compliance with all company safety policies, Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Stay current on cosmetic industry trends, ingredient technologies, and regulatory developments.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Cosmetic Science, or a related scientific discipline required.
• Minimum 3 years of hands-on cosmetic formulation experience required.
• Experience in personal care, skin care, hair care, fragrance, color cosmetics, or OTC product development required.
• Experience taking products from concept through manufacturing scale-up and commercialization.
• Contract manufacturing and customer-driven product development experience preferred.

Technical Qualifications

• Strong working knowledge of cosmetic raw materials and ingredient functionality.
• Experience formulating emulsions, surfactant systems, gels, creams, lotions, serums, butters, waxes, and anhydrous products.
• Knowledge of rheology modifiers, emulsifiers, preservatives, polymers, active ingredients, pigments, fragrances, and specialty ingredients.
• Understanding of product stability, compatibility testing, and product performance evaluations.
• Knowledge of FDA, MoCRA, OTC, PCPC, and cosmetic industry regulations.
• Experience with formulation management systems such as Optiva or equivalent preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word, and Outlook.

Competencies

• Strong formulation troubleshooting and analytical skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Detail-oriented with a commitment to quality and accuracy.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team.
• Demonstrated creativity, innovation, and passion for product development.
• Strong problem-solving skills and technical curiosity.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, and work in a laboratory environment for extended periods.
• Ability to safely handle cosmetic raw materials and laboratory equipment.

Work Environment

• Research and Development laboratory environment.
• Cosmetic and personal care manufacturing environment.
• Moderate noise level.
• Frequent interaction with laboratory, manufacturing, quality, regulatory, and commercial teams.