Lead Energetic Materials R&D Chemist

Rhodes Wolfe; Kansas; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sponsorship available

Job summary

UTEC Corporation is seeking a Lead R&D Chemist to drive development, guide a 3–5 person technical team, and engage with customers across industries including explosives and energetic materials. The role combines hands-on science with strategic leadership and cross-functional collaboration.

The ideal candidate will have deep experience in energetic materials or commercial explosives, a strong track record in formulation development and process scale‑up, and the ability to translate complex

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or physics required.
• Experience with energetic materials or commercial explosives required.
• Strong background with R&D and product development required.
• Experience with formulation development, testing, scale‑up, and process safety required.
• Ability to obtain ATF Employee Possessor status required.

Responsibilities

• Lead research, development, and improvement of commercial formulations and related products involving energetic materials, explosives, and hazardous chemical systems.
• Oversee a small team of scientists, technicians, and laboratory personnel.
• Drive formulation development, testing, scale‑up activities, and process optimization efforts.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, ATF, environmental, and laboratory safety regulations.
• Collaborate with operations and technical personnel to execute customer projects.
• Serve as a technical resource for customers; communicating findings, troubleshooting challenges, and identifying potential solutions.
• Contribute to project planning, resource allocation, and laboratory priorities.
• Drive innovation, and commercialization of new applications through customer engagement and technical partnerships.

Skills

Energetic materials

R&D leadership

Formulation development

Scale-up processes

Customer engagement

Team supervision

Education

Bachelor's degree in chemistry or physics

Job description

UTEC Corporation is seeking a Lead R&D Chemist to drive development, guide a 3–5 person technical team, and engage with customers across industries including explosives and energetic materials. The role combines hands-on science with strategic leadership and cross-functional collaboration.

The ideal candidate will have deep experience in energetic materials or commercial explosives, a strong track record in formulation development and process scale‑up, and the ability to translate complex