Senior Formulation Chemist

McKenna Labs is a full-service contract manufacturing company that specializes in hair, skin, and body care products. We've been in the personal care development and manufacturing industry since 1998. We are seeking a dynamic, innovative, and experienced Senior Formulation Chemist to join our Research and Development Team.

The Senior Formulation Chemist is responsible for the development, reformulation, optimization, and commercialization of innovative personal care and over-the-counter (OTC) products for contract manufacturing customers. This role will lead formulation projects from concept through commercialization, working closely with customers, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain to develop high-quality, compliant, and manufacturable products.

The ideal candidate will possess strong technical expertise in personal care and OTC formulations, a passion for innovation, and the ability to translate market trends and customer requirements into successful products. This role requires a hands-on formulator with a proven track record of bringing innovative products to market in a fast-paced contract manufacturing environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Develop new and innovative formulations aligned with customer objectives, emerging market trends, and regulatory requirements.
• Reformulate existing products to improve performance, cost, manufacturability, or regulatory compliance.
• Conduct laboratory experiments, stability studies, compatibility testing, and product performance evaluations.
• Translate bench-scale formulas into pilot and commercial manufacturing processes.
• Provide technical support during scale-up, validation, and commercial production.
• Troubleshoot formulation and manufacturing issues and recommend corrective actions.
• Collaborate with customers throughout the product development process, presenting prototypes, technical data, and project updates.
• Evaluate and qualify new raw materials, technologies, and suppliers.
• Maintain detailed formulation records, technical reports, and project documentation.
• Review product specifications and assist with technical transfer documentation.
• Work closely with Regulatory Affairs to ensure compliance with FDA, OTC Monograph, customer, and international requirements.
• Monitor industry trends, consumer insights, competitive products, and emerging technologies to identify innovation opportunities.
• Mentor junior chemists and laboratory personnel.
• Participate in customer meetings, trade shows, supplier presentations, and innovation initiatives.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, delivering high quality products on time.
• Onsite position.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Cosmetic Science, or related scientific discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of formulation experience in personal care, cosmetics, and/or OTC drug products.
• Demonstrated experience developing products from concept through commercialization.
• Strong knowledge of:
  • Emulsions
  • Surfactant systems
  • Active ingredients
  • Preservative systems
  • Rheology modifiers
  • OTC monograph products
• Experience conducting stability, compatibility, and performance testing.
• Ability to independently manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Experienced with tech transfers, including scaling up to large scale manufacturing equipment.
• Deep understanding of key active ingredients, raw materials, product efficacy/performance, and regulatory compliance.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, negotiation, and influencing skills to work effectively with all internal stakeholders.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to prioritize tasks effectively amongst multiple ongoing projects.
• Experience with mentoring others is a plus.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in a laboratory and manufacturing environment.
• Frequent standing, walking, lifting, and handling of laboratory materials up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE).

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The salary range for this role is $95,000 - $140,000 annually. Compensation is commensurate with level of knowledge, education, skills, and experience applicable to the position.

We understand that each team member's situation is unique, and so it is our intent to offer an overall benefits package that can be shaped and molded by each individual to fit their family's needs. Our current benefits package, which is available to all full-time team members, includes medical, dental, vision insurance, 401k retirement plan, flexible spending accounts, life and disability coverage, and other voluntary benefits.

We want everyone to feel welcome, respected and we are committed to providing the best space, experience and workplace for our teams - no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, national origin, veteran or disability status and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us different.