Director of Product Development, Aerospace Materials

Joinimagine; Bay Point (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Work-life balance

401k matching

Tuition reimbursement

Career growth

Job summary

Henkel is seeking a senior R&D leader for the Bay Point, CA area to drive product development in adhesives, sealants and coatings. You will guide a multi-disciplinary team, shape aerospace roadmapping, and ensure readiness through Stage Gate processes.

The role requires a PhD in Chemistry or related field, 10+ years in chemical R&D, and 5+ years in aerospace. Excellent communication and leadership are essential as you collaborate across functions to deliver innovative solutions.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or similar.
• 10+ years experience in chemical R&D environment strongly preferred.
• 5+ years in Aerospace industry strongly preferred.
• Experience leading product development with Stage Gate system.
• Strong communication and leadership skills.
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills.
• Experience building, mentoring, and scaling high-performance technical teams.
• Direct experience presenting technical solutions to aerospace OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Manage Bay Point Product Development team to deliver high quality and innovative products to meet strategic and financial goals.
• Contribute to technical road mapping for aerospace, identifying new trends and scouting ideas.
• Provide Technical Readiness Level inputs to new project ideas to facilitate prioritization in innovation portfolio.
• Execute IP strategy to maintain Henkel Technology leadership through patents, trade secrets, etc.
• Resolve customer technical issues and support root cause investigations.
• Collaborate with site quality review board to prioritize and execute Management of Change projects to defend/maintain our existing business.
• Responsible for site safety & 5s.
• Identify, justify, and execute lab investments in CAPEX/OPEX to increase efficiency, safety, and execution.
• Collaborate and communicate across PD sites, Application Engineering, Project Management, Marketing, Sales, Operations, and other key functions to smoothly execute all the actions above.

Skills

PhD in Chemistry

R&D leadership

Aerospace experience

Stage Gate leadership

Communication skills

Team leadership

Mentoring teams

Technical presentations

Education

PhD in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering

Job description

About this Position

At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping the future through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With our trusted brands like Persil®, ‘all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and our cutting-edge technologies, you’ll have countless opportunities to explore new paths and grow.

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

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

What You´ll Do

• Manage Bay Point Product Development team to deliver high quality and innovative products to meet strategic and financial goals
• Contribute to technical road mapping for aerospace, identifying new trends and scouting ideas
• Provide Technical Readiness Level inputs to new project ideas to facilitate prioritization in innovation portfolio
• Execute IP strategy to maintain Henkel Technology leadership through patents, trade secrets, etc.
• Resolve customer technical issues and support root cause investigations
• Collaborate with site quality review board to prioritize and execute Management of Change projects to defend/maintain our existing business
• Responsible for site safety & 5s
• Identify, justify, and execute lab investments in CAPEX/OPEX to increase efficiency, safety, and execution
• Collaborate and communicate across PD sites, Application Engineering, Project Management, Marketing, Sales, Operations, and other key functions to smoothly execute all the actions above

What makes you a good fit

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or similar
• 10+ years experience in chemical R&D environment strongly preferred
• 5+ years in Aerospace industry strongly preferred
• Experience leading product development with Stage Gate system
• Strong communication and leadership skills
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills
• Experience building, mentoring, and scaling high-performance technical teams
• Direct experience presenting technical solutions to aerospace OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers

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 for this role is $175,000 - $250.000. This is the range that we in good faith anticipate relying on when setting wages for this position. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range. This salary range may also be modified in the future.

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.

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.