Senior Chemist - Product Development

Job ID: 152 

Alternate Locations: India-Tamil Nadu-Chennai 

Newell Brands is a leading $8.3B consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands such as Graco®, Coleman®, Oster®, Rubbermaid® and Sharpie®, and 25,000 talented employees around the world. Our high-performance culture, unparalleled curiosity about the world around us, and talented people fuel our success. Our culture is enabled through our core values which guide all we do and how we win as One Newell. They are Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership & Leadership.

Newell Brands in EMEA and Emerging Asian Markets comprise our operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Southeast Asia, India and China. Our go-to-market approach leverages the scale of our company and the power of our brands in the commercial clusters of the U.K. & Ireland, Italy & Iberia, Germany, Austria & Switzerland, France & Benelux and Nordics & Emerging Markets. We’re proud to work with retailers and distribution partners to delight our consumers.

At Newell Brands, our iconic brands and talented employees are our key differentiators. While each of our ~7,000 employees across the region is unique, we’re united by our shared values of integrity, teamwork, passion for winning, ownership and leadership. As we progress on our transformation journey as One Newell, these values are at the center of all we do. They guide us in fulfilling our aspiration to delight consumers by lighting up everyday moments.

The Senior Product Development Chemist will be responsible for new product development (NPD) projects for both new and existing products, while working within a cross-functional team. Some travel may be required. This position will:

• Lead the Ink and Writing System development efforts on NPD projects from conception through production launch, while following Newell’s Product Development Process
• Ensure the product meets or exceeds expectations from a cost, timing, and specification standpoint
• Require the ability to work effectively with other disciplines including Engineering, Marketing, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain

Tasks & Responsibilities

Business Acumen 

• Monitors project Profit & Loss (P&L) and key drivers that affect overall program financial health to ensure projects meet established objectives (e.g., margins, costs, revenue, etc.).
• Partners with Marketing to develop robust CTQ (Critical to Quality) requirements relative to consumer needs. 
• Examines program success requirements and drives path forward to achieve success in most timely and cost effective manner.

Technical Leadership 

• Provides heavy testing and compliance support, working autonomously or on project teams with minimal guidance to complete required project validation.
• Reviews project proposals cross-functionally to develop technical project specifications.
• Recommends specific competitive products for benchmarking and reviews the results to gain competitive understanding,
• Participates in technical design reviews to ensure products are designed to specifications and will meet product safety requirements.
• Oversees the performance of the testing team informally to ensure product deliverables are being met.

Problem Solving 

• Implements existing testing methodologies on a program level to conduct product validation.
• Examines problems with a disciplined approach and uses the appropriate methodology to analyze and determine the preferred solution to technical challenges.
• Reviews test results summaries and recommends action plans to improve product design.
• Directs the development of optimal product test plans to ensure robust product safety performance.

Communication

• Prepares testing summary to manager with mitigation plans (if required) to communicate testing status and compliance activities.
• Investigates popular point of view when necessary to provide alternative recommendations.
• Translates complex technical concepts in simple, clear language appropriate to the audience to gain crossfunctional alignment.
• Presents emerging compliance requirements to product development team to ensure awareness and understanding of the regulatory landscape.

Organizational Agility

• Participates as representative on cross-functional teams to work seamlessly across boundaries of company, culture, and geography for successful NPD.
• Partners with development and delivery organizations to balance the needs of compliance, NPD, productivity, and product derivatives.

Technical Mastery

• Incorporates an intermediate understanding of product specifications, material/chemical selection, manufacturing processes, cost constraints, and regulatory and legal landscape (intellectual property) to drive high quality, sustainable, and efficient new product development
• Recommends intermediate chemical formulations of products and is accountable for a subset of the system to ensure robust end product designs.
• Recommends intermediate material selection/design of writing systems for products and is accountable for robust designs in collaboration with the Engineering team.
• Demonstrates a strong understanding of core discipline and basic knowledge of other disciplines relevant to business segment to drive effective program execution.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments.