Chemist, Research and Development

NPAA; Lansing (IL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Earned bonus structure

Paid holidays

401(k) with strong company match

Tuition reimbursement

Employee recognition programs

Company events

Job summary

NPAA is seeking a lab-focused professional to perform customer-facing lab work, coordinating with supervisors on coatings projects and documentation. You will handle paint prep, correlation tasks, record-keeping, and support for customer and product-related activities.

The role emphasizes translating technical results to chemists, sales, and field teams, maintaining detailed lab records, and contributing to ongoing process improvements within NPAA’s lab environment.

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or related field with 2 years of relevant experience.
• Proficient with Windows software (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and Copilot.
• Experience with Minitab or JMP; SAP ERP experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Apply coatings knowledge for lab projects; analyze results with supervisor and propose next steps.
• Perform drawdown and coating tests; understand roll-to-roll and extrusion lamination concepts.
• Communicate results to chemists, managers, and field teams; document in lab notebooks and reports.

Skills

Coatings chemistry

Laboratory techniques

Customer interaction

Technical problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemistry

Tools

SAP

Minitab

JMP

Excel

PowerPoint

Copilot

Job description

At NPAA, we believe our employees are our greatest strength. We are proud to offer a generous and competitive rewards package, including:

• Earned Bonus Structure – annual merit increases, and an annual incentive bonus plan.
• Time Off & Holidays – 11 paid holidays each year, plus paid time off to support work-life balance.
• Health & Retirement – comprehensive health and welfare plans, along with a 401(k) program featuring an exceptional company match.
• Career Growth & Recognition – tuition reimbursement, employee recognition programs, and opportunities to grow within the organization.
• Culture & Community – as part of the NPAA family, you’ll enjoy company events throughout the year celebrating and appreciating our employees’ hard work and dedication.

POSITION SUMMARY:

This position requires customer focused lab work as assigned by supervisor, including paint and panel preparation, customer correlation work, record keeping, and other customer/product support activities as established by supervisor.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Technical Skills: Requires general understanding of formula raw materials, and the general function of each component. Recognizes technical issues, applies basic understanding of coatings chemistry and/or materials engineering principles working with supervisor to analyze project results, and establishing a path forward for project. Contributes ideas for internal and external problem solving, and may have occasional direct customer contact.
• Application Knowledge: Uses drawdown techniques to apply coatings to film and has a general understanding of roll-to-roll coating or printing applications on film, as well as extrusion lamination processes used to bond two sheets together. Also uses hand-spray application equipment to generate consistent test/evaluation panels. Learning key customer application methods and automated spray equipment concepts (e-state, rotary, etc). Gaining a deeper understanding of the concepts required for consistent spray and roll-to-roll process correlation with customers and converters. Modify/Adjust existing correlations with limited assistance and capable of creating a new customer correlation with assistance. Modify product or application settings to improve product workability with guidance.
• Communication Skills: (oral and written): Communicate technical information/project results to chemists, group managers, and the Technical Director. Communicates with Sales and commercial teams to understand customer requirements and collaborates with internal production and quality teams to support new product scale-up. Able to communicate with existing and new chemical suppliers, as well as academic institutions, to access new materials and explore ideas based on scientific hypotheses (for example, researching patents and the latest technical publications). Write monthly reports to manager, keep detailed records of all project formulations, results, and analyses in laboratory notebook; write detailed laboratory reports with conclusions, analysis, and supporting data for internal and external review. Communicates effectively with global R&D teams; occasional early morning or late evening meetings may be required due to time zone differences. Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint and uses these tools to clearly communicate ideas and data.
• Customer Focus: Travel with other NPAA personnel to support customer/film converter needs. Demonstrate basic understanding of internal NPAA procedures to address customer requests. Adjust schedule as management requests in order to meet customer expectations and timelines. Relay results directly to Field Technical Service with management review. Basic customer interaction required with assistance.
• Business Process: Use existing business processes in order to transition paint from Lab to Plant to Customer including: RMIF, TSCA/DSL, NMI, Test Lab/Spec Testing, Formula Holds, SAP, AS/400, EDS, Mass Change, Lab Notebooks, Customer Idios, Customer Correlations and Complaint Process. Requires detailed understanding of these processes, and independent use in order to move tasks forward, including completion with a focus on timeliness.
• Move waste from generation point to 90-day Storage Area
• Properly close and label waste containers using NPAA procedures

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors Degree in Chemistry, Materials Science or other science field with 2 years relevant experience.
• Fully proficient with Windows software such as Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Copilot.
• Experience with Minitab or JMP software; experience running DOE studies is preferred.
• Experience with ERP systems, specifically SAP, is preferred.
• Bilingual in Chinese or Japanese is a plus.
• Ability to lift 50 lbs, as well as able to work with isocyanates or other chemicals in lab.
• Willing and able to travel and work overtime as required.
• Strong work ethic, able to work well with minimal supervision.
• Adapts well to priority shifts.

Nippon Paint Automotive Americas Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.