Lead Application Engineer, Flexible Packaging

Henkel; United States; Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Work-Life Balance

401k matching

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Henkel’s Adhesive Technologies unit seeks a senior technical services professional to partner with customers in demonstrating coatings, running trials, troubleshooting, and documenting results.

You will translate customer needs into practical coatings recommendations while coordinating with product development, manufacturing, and sales. Travel up to 60% across the USA, with some international support as needed.

Qualifications

• BS in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science/Engineering, Chemistry, Polymer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or similar degree/experience.
• 5–10+ years in technical service, application engineering, process engineering, product development, or related fields with coatings experience.
• Willing to travel up to ~60%, primarily in the USA and occasionally MX/CAN.
• Hands-on experience with coating application methods and equipment (gravure, slot die, roll coating, etc.).
• Ability to translate customer process conditions into practical coatings recommendations and trial plans.
• Excellent people and organization skills to manage multiple trials and requests.

Responsibilities

• Lead coatings demonstrations and training at customer sites and compile visit reports.
• Serve as technical liaison between customers and internal teams to translate needs into product and process requirements.
• Provide technical support on product recommendations, substrate evaluations, and problem solving.
• Plan and communicate lab and pilot-scale requests to support customer projects.
• Prepare reports summarizing trial results and recommendations for next steps.
• Contribute coatings expertise through customer engagement and professional networks.
• Adhere to safety requirements and pursue ongoing learning and mentoring.

Skills

Coatings experience

Travel willingness

Coating methods

Customer liaison

Education

B.S. in Chemical Engineering or related

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

• Acts as a trusted technical partner for customers by leading coatings-focused product and technology demonstrations, coating trials, troubleshooting, and training at customer sites, using pre- and post-trial documentation and visit reports to help customers succeed.
• Serves as the technical liaison between customers and internal teams—including product development, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and marketing—to translate application needs into actionable product, process, and customer support requirements.
• Provides timely technical support for assigned regional customers, including product recommendations, substrate evaluations, complaint investigations, line issue diagnosis, and application-based problem solving.
• Plans, executes, and communicates laboratory and pilot-scale requests to support customer and market projects, including coating weight, appearance, adhesion, performance, and processability assessments.
• Prepares reports that summarize trial results, technical findings, conclusions, and recommended next steps, and communicates this information effectively to internal and external stakeholders.
• Provides market-specific coatings expertise through customer engagement, competitive and industry awareness, and involvement in professional societies, technical networks, and industry associations.
• Leads by example in Safety, completing all necessary site and field safety requirements.
• Develops technical and professional skills through ongoing learning, mentoring, and participation in internal and external technical communities.

What makes you a good fit

• BS in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science/Engineering, Chemistry, Polymer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or similar degree/experience required; coatings-related technical background strongly preferred.
• Typically, 5–10+ years of technical service, application engineering, process engineering, product development, or industry experience, with direct experience in coatings, coated substrates, converting, or flexible packaging strongly preferred.
• Willing to travel up to ~60%, primarily in the USA and occasionally MX/CAN; with advance planning and support to enable sustainable work-life balance.
• Hands-on experience with coating application methods and equipment, such as gravure, slot die, roll coating, rod coating, Mayer rod, reverse roll, pilot coater, laminator/coater, drying/curing conditions, coating weight control, and defect troubleshooting is highly valued.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot coatings performance and application issues, including adhesion, wet-out, film formation, blocking, curl, appearance defects, coat weight variation, viscosity/rheology, drying, curing, and substrate compatibility.
• Experience translating customer process conditions, substrate structures, and end-use requirements into practical coatings recommendations and trial plans.
• Excellent people skills; able to work effectively with a range of individuals from manufacturing operators and laboratory technicians through senior management both at customers and within Henkel.
• Strong organization skills with the ability to manage multiple customer coating trials, technical requests, and follow-up actions while maintaining clear documentation and communication.

Some benefits of joining Henkel

• Health Insurance: affordableplans for medical, dental, vision and wellbeing starting on day 1
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time offincluding sick, vacation, holiday and volunteer time, flexible & hybridwork 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 genderneutral parental leave (up to 20 weeks for parents giving birth), fertilitysupport, adoption & surrogacy reimbursement, discounted child and elderlycare, and scholarships
• Career Growth: diverse nationaland international growth opportunities, access to thousands of skillsdevelopment courses, and tuition reimbursement

The salary rangefor this role is $105,000.00 and $125,000.00. This range represents the good‑faith minimumand maximum wages the Company reasonably expects to offer for this role at thetime of posting.In addition to base salary, this position may be eligiblefor incentive pay or other forms of compensation, as applicable. TheCompany also offers a comprehensive benefits package as described above. Actualcompensation will be based on factors such as the candidate’s skills,experience, education, training, and work location. This posting is intended tocomply with all applicable state and local pay transparency laws.

Henkel does notaccept 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 anunsolicited referral.

At Henkel, wecome from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. Webelieve the uniqueness of all our employees is the power in us. Henkel is anequal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard torace, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status,genetic information, and other legally protected categories.