Innovation Chemist - Beauty & Personal Care

Univar Solutions USA Inc; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Univar Solutions is seeking an Innovation Chemist to develop consumer products and formulations from concept to customer presentation. You will create prototypes, conduct benchmarking, and collaborate with Marketing, Product Managers and Sales to drive business growth.

Ideal candidates have 1–3 years in beauty/personal care formulations, strong project management, and the ability to work with suppliers. This on-site Houston role emphasizes technical precision and cross-functional teamwork.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or related fields.
• 1-3 years of experience as a scientist/formulator/chemist in a laboratory, with beauty/personal care formulations experience.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize workload, and collaborate with remote teams.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with customers and suppliers.
• Good decision-making balancing customer needs and company objectives.

Responsibilities

• Under the guidance of a Technical Service Manager, you will develop new consumer products or formulations, from the concept phase through to customer presentation.
• Develop new product prototypes to demonstrate ingredient function and aid in the sales process.
• Proactively organize and carry out comparative studies and material benchmarking.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Marketing, Product Managers and Sales Managers.
• Showcase new products at industry tradeshows and on various digital platforms.
• Host and visit customers with the sales, marketing and product teams to develop new business opportunities.
• Plan, prioritize and complete tasks with accurate records and attention to detail.
• Set up, calibrate, operate and maintain laboratory instruments to optimize performance.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work area.
• Manage a pipeline of projects within a Stage and Gate process to help expedite customer commercialization.

Skills

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or related fields

Job description

A Place Where People Matter.

Start your career journey with Univar Solutions! Here you can make an impact on the world around you and accelerate your career in areas that energize and excite you.

As an Innovation Chemist, you will assist with product development and innovation formulations for skincare, haircare, and other personal care products. You will translate trends into manufacturable products by working with our key suppliers and featuring their ingredients in specific applications. You will also solve formulation problems using these ingredients for key customer projects.

Curious about consumer demand and trends, you will create projects, develop new methods and/or use established methods and procedures and laboratory equipment to perform customized testing, generate advanced specialty formulations, and prototype stable and market-ready products.

What you'll do

• Under the guidance of a Technical Service Manager, you will develop new consumer products or formulations, from the concept phase through to customer presentation.

• Develop new product prototypes to demonstrate ingredient function and aid in the sales process.

• Proactively organize and carry out comparative studies and material benchmarking.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Marketing, Product Managers and Sales Managers.

• Showcase new products at industry tradeshows and on various digital platforms.

• Host and visit customers together with the sales, marketing, and product management teams to develop new businesses and support existing business opportunities.

• Plan, prioritize and complete tasks while maintaining accurate and complete records and results for review. An eye for detail and dedication to technical precision is essential.

• Sets up, calibrates, operates, and performs minor maintenance and repair of various laboratory instruments and equipment, focusing on optimizing instrument performance.

• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work area, including the cleaning of equipment and work surfaces.

• Manage a pipeline of projects within a Stage and Gate process to help expedite customer commercialization of new formulation innovations.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or related fields.

• 1-3 years of successful experience as a scientist/formulator/chemist, working in a laboratory, skilled in chemical product formulations in the Beauty and Personal Care industry.

• Must have the ability to handle multiple projects, prioritize workload, and excel at team management at a distance.

• Ability to develop and grow positive relationships with key customer contacts and suppliers.

• High level of decision-making ability balancing customer needs and company objectives.

• Computer skills including Microsoft applications (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).

Where you'll work

This is an on-site opportunity. Our Univar Solutions: Custom Lab Services is in Houston, TX. Preference for candidates located in the area.

Univar Solutions is a leading, global distributor of chemicals and ingredients essential to the safety, health, and wellbeing of our daily lives from life-saving medicines and vitamins to hand sanitizers and industrial materials used for cleaning, construction, and more. Our global team of more 9,500 employees support our vision to redefine distribution and be the most valued chemical and ingredient distributor on the planet!

We offer a Total Rewards package that includes market aligned pay and incentives as well as a diverse benefits offering to support our employees' physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing.

Univar Solutions supports sustainable solutions for the world around us so that we can do our part to help keep our communities healthy, fed, clean, and safe!

We are committed to a diverse workforce and a culture of inclusion.

Together, we are building a culture that acknowledges the unique experiences, perspectives and expertise of individuals and provides the development and growth opportunities to empower us to redefine our industry.

Univar Solutions is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected classification. We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the hiring process, please contact us at [e-mail].

Univar Solutions does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or staffing firms (collectively Recruiting Firms). Recruiting Firms must enter into a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with Univar Solutions prior to submitting any information relating to a potential candidate. All searches must be initiated by Univar Solutions' Talent Acquisition team and candidates must be submitted via Applicant Tracking System (ATS) by approved vendors who have been expressly requested to make a submission for a specific job opening. No placement fees will be paid to any firm unless the aforementioned conditions have been met. Contacting our hiring managers directly is prohibited.