R&D Technician / Manager – Rotational Molding Materials
Position Summary
Hands-on R&D professional responsible for rotational molding material and product development, supporting new product innovation, customer problem-solving, and commercialization. This role bridges lab development, plant scale-up, and customer application needs.
Key Responsibilities
Product Development & Formulation
- Develop and optimize roto molding formulations (PE, XLPE, advanced polymers and Special Effects PE)
- Design materials to meet customer performance requirements
- Modify formulations using additives, crosslinking systems, and blends
- Lead new product development from concept to commercialization
Testing & Process Development
- Operate R&D rotational molding equipment
- Perform and interpret testing: impact, MFI, density, ESCR, thermal/mechanical
- Develop test methods, specifications, and validation plans
- Design and execute DOE to establish processing windows and scale-up correlations
Technical Support
- Troubleshoot customer processing and performance issues
- Recommend materials, additives, and process conditions
- Address issues such as warpage, sintering, brittleness, and durability
Collaboration
- Work with manufacturing, sales, customers, and leadership
- Support plant trials, scale-up, and customer development efforts
- Communicate technical results to diverse stakeholders
Materials Expertise
- Strong knowledge of Polyethylene (PE) and cross-linkable PE (XLPE)
- Familiarity with higher-value materials (PA, PC, PP, specialty polymers) preferred