Chemist, Research and Development

Nippon Paint Automotive Americas, Inc.; Lansing (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Paid holidays

401(k) match

Tuition reimbursement

Company events

Job summary

Nippon Paint Automotive Americas Inc. is seeking a customer-focused lab professional to support paint and panel prep, correlation work, record keeping, and other product support activities under supervision.

Responsibilities include applying coatings, performing drawdown tests, communicating findings to chemists and sales teams, and ensuring timely project progression while adhering to NPAA procedures and safety standards; some travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Materials Science or related field with 2 years of relevant experience.
• Proficient with Windows apps: Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Copilot.
• Experience with Minitab or JMP; knowledge of DOE studies preferred.
• ERP experience, SAP is preferred; bilingual Chinese or Japanese is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Perform lab work including paint and panel prep and record-keeping.
• Apply coating knowledge and analyze project results with supervisor.
• Communicate technical results to chemists, managers, and field team.
• Travel with NPAA staff to support customer/film converter needs.
• Move waste per NPAA procedures and maintain lab notebooks and reports.

Skills

Lab skills

Communication

Time management

Customer support

Education

Bachelors in Chemistry

Tools

SAP

Minitab

Excel

DOE studies

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.