Global Technical Manager - Carbon Black Liquid Systems

YO IT Consulting; Germany (OH); On-site; USD 105,621 - 152,564; Full time

Job summary

A leading global consulting firm is seeking a Senior Technical Leader to establish and lead the Global Technical Services function focused on carbon black in inks and coatings. The role demands fluency in German and English, along with substantial experience in carbon black applications. Key responsibilities include technical leadership, customer engagement, and team development. This position also involves collaboration across multiple functions to address customer needs and industry challenges. The ideal candidate should have a strong educational background and technical expertise in dispersion science, rheology, and color science.

Qualifications

• Fluent in German and English.
• Minimum 8+ years of experience in carbon black for inks/coatings.
• Stable career history with minimum 2 years per company.

Responsibilities

• Act as global technical authority for carbon black in inks and coatings.
• Lead advanced troubleshooting including dispersion and rheology.
• Build and mentor a high-performance technical team.

Skills

Dispersion science

Rheology

Color science

Customer engagement

Stakeholder management

Education

Master’s or PhD in relevant chemistry/material science

Job description

Location: European Union; Experience: 10-15 Years

About The Role

We are seeking a Senior Technical Leader to establish and lead our Global Technical Services function for Carbon Black in Inks, Paints & Coatings. This role will build an application-driven, customer-facing technical organization that accelerates product qualification and commercialization, solves complex formulation challenges, and translates market needs into clear R&D and product development roadmaps. As the senior technical authority, you will represent the Voice of the Customer internally and collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, R&D, Quality, Manufacturing, Regulatory and Product Stewardship teams globally. Fluency in German and English is mandatory for senior customer engagement and cross‑functional leadership.

Mandatory Requirements

• EU Citizen (Native / Eligible to work in the EU)
• Fluent in German and English
• Master’s or PhD in relevant chemistry/material science discipline
• 8+ years of carbon black experience in inks/coatings
• Strong expertise in dispersion science, rheology and color science
• Understanding of regulatory & product stewardship frameworks
• Willingness to travel across Europe
• Stable career history with minimum 2 years per company

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Customer Interface

• Act as the global technical authority for carbon black in inks and coatings.
• Lead advanced troubleshooting including dispersion, flocculation, rheology, jetness, gloss, undertone, filterability and rub resistance.
• Design and execute Design of Experiments (DoE) for customer trials and scale‑up.
• Provide expert guidance on carbon black grade selection for specific applications.

Applications & Laboratory Excellence

• Define the global applications laboratory strategy and dispersion best practices.
• Standardize critical testing methods and performance benchmarks.
• Build structured application data systems to enable faster technical recommendations.

Product & Portfolio Enablement

• Translate Voice of Customer (VoC) insights into clear New Product Introduction (NPI) briefs and application specifications.
• Partner with R&D teams on surface chemistry, structure optimization, and dispersibility improvements.
• Develop application maps and recommendation matrices across market segments.

Quality, Complaints & Manufacturing Interface

• Lead technical complaint resolution and root cause analysis.
• Strengthen alignment with manufacturing on critical‑to‑quality parameters.
• Drive improvements in product consistency, quality performance, and perceived product stability.

Market & Technical Branding

• Represent the company at industry conferences, customer technology events and technical forums.
• Develop technical papers, webinars and application tools to support Sales and Marketing.

Organization & Operations

• Build, mentor and lead a high‑performance global technical team.
• Establish KPIs, SLAs and operational frameworks for the technical services function.
• Manage application labs, budgets and technical investments.

Candidate Profile

• Master’s or PhD in Chemistry, Materials Science, Polymer Science, or Chemical Engineering.
• 8-10+ years of experience working with carbon black in inks and/or coatings.
• Proven experience in customer‑facing technical leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in dispersion science, rheology, color science, and application testing.
• Strong knowledge of regulatory and product stewardship requirements.
• Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills.

Nice to Have

• Experience with conductive coatings
• EMI shielding materials
• Battery coatings
• Digital inkjet systems