Formulation Chemist

Scentsy, Inc. (Corporate Office); Meridian (ID); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Intermountain Blending & Filling is seeking a Formulation Chemist to develop and improve personal care and home care formulas. You will act as SME for formulations, supervise junior R&D staff, and manage scale-up from lab to pilot runs while ensuring product efficacy, safety, and regulatory compliance.

The role requires a BS in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering and 3+ years in formulation and production, with experience in personal care product development.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of formulation and production experience
• 2+ years in development of personal care products
• SCC membership a plus
• Strong knowledge of formulations for personal care and home care products that can deliver a fragrance experience
• Knowledge of laundry products and their formulation
• Ability to work in a fast-paced laboratory environment, with laboratory equipment, chemicals, and manufacturing raw materials
• Familiarity with compounding equipment
• Laboratory background in analytical instrumentation (GC, FT-IR)
• Strong knowledge of safety data sheets (SDS)
• Clear and direct written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to consult with Compounders, Quality team members, and IBF customers
• Ability to evaluate smell and color hues
• Experience with safety and regulatory submissions

Responsibilities

• Formulate and facilitate development of innovative products and improvements
• Identify external partnerships to develop new technologies
• Review literature on formulations and regulatory aspects
• Provide technical support to manufacturing on new and existing products
• Manage scale-up from R&D to pilot validation runs
• Assist QA/QC in development of test methods
• Create raw material specifications and batch documents
• Source chemical samples and create evaluation samples
• Evaluate costs, lead times, and MOQs for new chemicals
• Translate customer requirements into formulations and marketing claims
• Assist production testing and validation runs
• Evaluate new product, packaging, and equipment needs
• Coordinate stability, microbiology, safety, and efficacy tests
• Maintain cross-functional communication with Legal, R&D, and Manufacturing teams
• Maintain laboratory order and safety
• Oversee preventive maintenance and calibrations
• Train and supervise junior staff
• Provide regulatory/submissions information
• Perform other assigned tasks

Skills

Formulation expertise

R&D supervision

Regulatory knowledge

Analytical instrumentation knowledge

SDS knowledge

Cross-functional communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering

Tools

Gas chromatography

FT-IR

Rheometer

Laboratory instrumentation

SAP

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Description

Intermountain Blending & Filling is looking for a Formulation Chemist to develop and improve personal care and home care formulas for IBF customers. The Formulation Chemist is the subject matter expert (SME) with regards to formulated products and their raw materials. The Formulation Chemist is responsible for developing liquids, emulsions, and powder formulas in the personal care, skin care, hair care, home care, cleaning, pet, spa, and laundry categories within customer and regional requirements. The Formulation Chemist may function as a working Chemist, with responsibilities to supervise more junior R&D staff.

(Please note: We are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position)

What You’ll Do

• Formulate and facilitate the development of innovative products, line extensions, and product improvements in personal care and home care products
• Identify and maintain external partnerships to develop new technologies and conceptual ideas in personal care and home care
• Review current literature regarding formulations and regulatory aspects
• Provide technical support to manufacturing on new and existing products
• Manage scale-up from R&D lab batches to pilot validation runs with Process Engineering, owning each product’s efficacy and quality through the development phase and overseeing the transition to the Process Engineering team
• Assist QA (Quality Assurance)/QC (Quality Control) in development of test methods for raw materials and finished products
• Create specifications for raw materials and laboratory, scale-up, and production formulation batches
• Source chemical samples from suppliers and create evaluation samples for customers
• Evaluate costing, lead times, and minimum order quantities (MOQs) when sourcing potential new chemicals for formulations
• Understand customer requirements and formulate to desired marketing claims and ingredient restrictions
• Assist with production testing as needed, including validation runs
• Assist with evaluation of new product, packaging, and equipment needs
• Coordinate stability, microbiological, safety, and efficacy tests
• Maintain constant cross-functional communication with Legal, Research and Development (R&D), and customer Manufacturing teams
• Maintain laboratory order and cleanliness
• Maintain a clean and safe work environment
• Maintain laboratory equipment, managing preventive maintenance (PM) and calibrations
• Oversee consumables supply inventories and create requisitions to replenish as needed
• Train and supervise other R&D personnel (Chemists and Technicians) as a working Supervisor
• Provide information and reports to support regulatory/compliance related submissions
• Perform all other assigned tasks and requirements as needed

We’re Looking For

• B.S. degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
• 3+ years of formulation and production experience
• 2+ years of experience in development of personal care products
• Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) membership a plus
• Strong knowledge of formulations for personal care and home care products that can deliver a fragrance experience
• Knowledge of laundry products and their formulation
• Ability to work in a fast-paced laboratory environment, working safely with laboratory equipment, chemicals, and manufacturing raw materials, including fragrances
• Ability to gain familiarity with compounding equipment
• Laboratory background in analytical instrumentation with working knowledge in gas chromatography, rheometers, and FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared), a plus
• Strong knowledge of safety data sheets (SDS)
• Clear and direct written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to consult with Compounders, Quality team members, and IBF customers in a clear and helpful manner
• Ability to determine smell and color hues
• Frequently exposed to strong scents and raw chemicals
• Ability to occasionally bend, sit, squat, crawl, walk, and reach above shoulder level
• Ability to frequently read, comprehend, write, perform complex mathematic calculations, communicate orally, and reason and analyze
• Ability to write detailed INCI decks, batch cards, formulas, and technical reports
• Working knowledge of computers and all applicable software including Microsoft Office Suite
• Working knowledge of SAP or comparable ERP systems