Application Engineer

Henkel; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 88,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Work-Life Balance

401k matching

Performance bonus

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Henkel is seeking a talented engineer to join its Adhesive Technologies team in Santa Clara, CA. You will provide technical support for structural adhesive applications across development and production programs, and help optimize bonding processes from surface prep to curing.

The role requires a bachelor's in chemistry, chemical engineering, or related field, 3+ years in adhesives or coatings, and strong problem-solving and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, or related technical field.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in structural adhesives, bonding technologies, electronics assembly, advanced materials, or related industry.
• R&D experience in adhesive formulation, material development, product development, or application development is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support for structural adhesive applications across development and production programs.
• Develop and optimize adhesive bonding processes, including surface preparation, dispensing, curing, and assembly.
• Design and execute laboratory testing to evaluate mechanical performance, reliability, and environmental durability.
• Support product selection, validation, troubleshooting, and qualification for customer applications.
• Collaborate with customers, R&D, manufacturing, sales, and product development to deliver application solutions.
• Conduct failure analysis and root cause investigations to resolve technical challenges.
• Prepare technical reports, application guidelines, and customer presentations.
• Support new product introductions, competitive evaluations, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Maintain laboratory equipment and ensure compliance with safety and quality standards.
• Travel as needed to provide on-site customer support and technical training.

Skills

Structural adhesives

Bonding processes

Laboratory testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

Laboratory equipment

Job description

About this Position

At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping thefuture through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With our trustedbrands like Persil®, ‘all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and ourcutting-edge technologies, you’ll have countless opportunities to explore newpaths and grow.

This position is with our Adhesive Technologies business unit –where we empower our people to transform industries and provide our customerswith a competitive advantage through adhesives, sealants and functionalcoatings.

Dare to learn new skills, advance inyour career and make an impact at Henkel.

What you´ll do

• Provide technical support for structural adhesive applications across customer development and production programs
• Develop and optimize adhesive bonding processes, including surface preparation, dispensing, curing, and assembly
• Design and execute laboratory testing to evaluate mechanical performance, reliability, and environmental durability
• Support product selection, validation, troubleshooting, and qualification for customer applications
• Collaborate with customers, R&D, manufacturing, sales, and product development to deliver application solutions
• Conduct failure analysis and root cause investigations to resolve technical challenges
• Prepare technical reports, application guidelines, and customer presentations
• Support new product introductions, competitive evaluations, and continuous improvement initiatives
• Maintain laboratory equipment and ensure compliance with safety and quality standards
• Travel as needed to provide on-site customer support and technical training
• Fully onsite role requiring 5 days per week in the Santa Clara office

What makes you a good fit

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, or a related technical field
• Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in structural adhesives, bonding technologies, electronics assembly, advanced materials, or a related industry
• R&D experience in adhesive formulation, material development, product development, or application development is strongly preferred
• Experience developing and evaluating adhesive or coating solutions for complex assemblies and diverse substrates, including metals, plastics, glass, composites, and coated materials
• Knowledge of structural adhesive chemistries, bonding mechanisms, surface preparation, curing processes, and adhesive performance characterization
• Experience with laboratory testing, application development, product qualification, reliability testing, or customer technical support
• Ability to design experiments, analyze technical data, troubleshoot technical issues, and develop practical solutions
• Experience translating customer and market requirements into material, product, or application development programs is preferred
• Strong problem-solving skills, initiative, sense of urgency, and ability to independently manage multiple projects and priorities
• Effective communication, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Ability to engage customers in technical discussions and communicate complex technical information clearly
• Willingness to support up to 15% domestic and international travel

Some benefits of joining Henkel

• Health Insurance: affordable plans for medical, dental, vision and wellbeing starting on day 1
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off including sick, vacation, holiday and volunteer time, flexible & hybrid work policies (depending on role), and vacation buy / sell program
• Financial: 401k matching, employee share plan with voluntary investment and Henkel matching shares, annual performance bonus, service awards and student loan reimbursement
• Family Support: 12-week gender neutral parental leave (up to 20 weeks for parents giving birth), fertility support, adoption & surrogacy reimbursement, discounted child and elderly care, and scholarships
• Career Growth: diverse national and international growth opportunities, access to thousands of skills development courses, and tuition reimbursement

The salary range for this role is $88,000.00 and $140,000.00. This range represents the good‑faith minimum and maximum wages the Company reasonably expects to offer for this role at the time of posting. In addition to base salary, this position may be eligible for incentive pay or other forms of compensation, as applicable. The Company also offers a comprehensive benefits package as described above. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate’s skills, experience, education, training, and work location. This posting is intended to comply with all applicable state and local pay transparency laws. Henkel does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or employment agencies. Unsolicited referrals and resumes are considered Henkel property and therefore, Henkel will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited referral. At Henkel, we come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe the uniqueness of all our employees is the power in us. Henkel is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.