Lead Polymer Processing Engineer – Innovation & Scale-Up

Evonik Industries AG; Allentown (Lehigh County); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Evonik Corporation in Allentown, PA seeks a senior polymer processing leader to guide a technical team through advanced plastics processing, scale‑up, and new product introduction. You will drive DOE‑based optimization, cross‑functional collaboration, and safety‑driven operational excellence across injection molding, extrusion, and compounding.

The role emphasizes leadership, project management, and a data‑driven mindset to deliver reliable, compliant processing capabilities and strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Polymer/Plastics Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of industrial experience in polymer processing, including injection molding, extrusion, compounding, or related plastics manufacturing technologies.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams, developing talent, and driving high‑performance organizational culture.
• Strong expertise in process development, troubleshooting, process optimization, and scale‑up from laboratory to commercial production.
• Proven ability to apply Design of Experiments (DOE), statistical analysis, and data‑driven methodologies to solve complex technical challenges.
• Experience managing multiple projects, priorities, budgets, and resources in a fast‑paced technical environment.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence cross‑functional teams and build customer relationships.
• Demonstrated commitment to safety leadership, risk management, and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and train a team of technicians, fostering a culture of safety, accountability, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Establish priorities and allocate resources across polymer processing activities, ensuring alignment with business, R&D, application development, and commercial objectives.
• Oversee the planning, execution, and interpretation of polymer processing trials involving injection molding, extrusion, compounding, and related conversion technologies.
• Drive process development and optimization initiatives to support new product introduction, application validation, scale‑up, external tolling and commercialization efforts.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for complex processing challenges, leading root cause investigations and implementation of sustainable corrective actions.
• Develop and execute operational excellence strategies to improve equipment utilization, laboratory productivity, service levels, and cost effectiveness.
• Champion safety, quality, and regulatory compliance by ensuring adherence to applicable standards, risk management processes, and company procedures.
• Manage laboratory assets, capital investments, maintenance strategies, and technology upgrades to ensure reliable and future‑ready processing capabilities.
• Establish performance culture, monitor key business and operational indicators, and communicate progress, opportunities, and risks to leadership.

Skills

Team leadership

Polymer processing

DOE methods

Process optimization

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's in Polymer/Plastics Engineering

MS preferred

Tools

DOE software

Statistical analysis

Job description

Evonik Corporation in Allentown, PA seeks a senior polymer processing leader to guide a technical team through advanced plastics processing, scale‑up, and new product introduction. You will drive DOE‑based optimization, cross‑functional collaboration, and safety‑driven operational excellence across injection molding, extrusion, and compounding.

The role emphasizes leadership, project management, and a data‑driven mindset to deliver reliable, compliant processing capabilities and strong