R&D Lab Technician

Fenix Group; Minnetonka (MN); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Fenix Group is seeking a Lab Technician for our R&D team focused on formulating and developing new paint products. You will work with chemists and the VP of R&D to ensure performance, quality, and regulatory compliance.

You will gain growth opportunities within R&D, support formulation improvements, and have a clear path to higher level roles based on skill development and experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, or related field.
• 0-2 years of experience in paint formulation or related R&D role in coatings.
• Familiarity with ISO and regulatory standards for paints/coatings preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication to convey data and findings.
• Ability to follow directions and report findings clearly and timely.
• Strong problem solving and willingness to learn and take on more responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Assist with chemistry projects by developing and optimizing paint formulations with chemists, testing properties like viscosity and color stability.
• Support operations by sourcing materials, evaluating additives, and assisting in scale-up to manufacturing; close batch tickets after shipment.
• Act as primary contact for customer complaints regarding formulations or performance, performing root-cause analysis.

Skills

Chemistry knowledge

Lab testing & methods

Data analysis

Communication

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Curiosity

Education

Bachelor's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, or related field

Job description

The Fenix Story

Fenix Group’s inception brought together several smaller brands, each born from the vision of small business owners. These entrepreneurs shared a profound love for their industry, a passion for their products, and an unwavering commitment to their loyal customers. Their businesses thrived because customers could rely on quality products, friendly service, and dedicated technical support. Each brand became synonymous with exceptional quality, performance, and genuine care.

What united these brands was a shared dream—a dream to transcend individual success and create a meaningful impact on the industry. Under one unified team, Fenix Group, they aimed to achieve the extraordinary.

With that in mind, we are executing on a transformation to build a results-driven and goal-oriented culture cemented by our core values of reliable, can-do, curious, team player, and achievement. We are focused on listening to customers to better understand and service their needs, identifying opportunities for growth within the market, and pursuing ways to leverage technology and automation both within our manufacturing plants and across our entire organization for our long-term success.

R&D Vision

Our R&D Department serves as a valued strategic partner driving technical excellence within Fenix Group. This partnership extends beyond products and innovation as the department serves as a conduit for alignment, ensuring that the company aspirations around “make it right the first time” and a consultative selling process, resonate across all departments.

This R&D Lab Technician position plays a key role on our R&D team focused on the formulation and development of new paint products, ensuring they meet performance, quality, and regulatory requirements. This role will offer you growth by working directly with our chemists and VP of R&D with the potential to move into higher level roles within our R&D department based upon gained skills. It’s an opportunity to get your foot in the door and have career security by gaining valuable experience!

What You Will Get To Do Each Day

Assist With Chemistry Projects

You’ll primarily spend your time partnering with our 3 chemists to develop and optimize paint formulations. This will include conducting experiments and tests to evaluate the performance and properties of the formulations, including viscosity, adhesion, durability, and color stability. You’ll be working with a mix of both existing products that need to be optimized/corrected or new products.

You will then analyze and interpret your documented experimental data to make informed recommendations and decisions about formulation adjustments or improvements.

Support Operations Activities

You will spend time partnering with our purchasing team to source and evaluate raw materials, additives, and pigments for use in paint formulations as a part of our efforts to reduce our number of raw materials or product cost.

You will also support scale-up activities for the successful transfer of formulations to manufacturing, which may include following batches through the production process and resolving any issues that may arise.

This role will also cross-train in Quality Control (QC) to support that department as needed, as well as own the process of closing all batch tickets after the product has shipped in order to spot opportunities for formulation improvements to support “right the first time” manufacturing.

Complaint Resolution

You will serve as the primary point of contact when a customer complaint is entered pertaining to the formulation or performance of a product. This will include investigating the complaint to ensure enough information is available and then providing a root-cause analysis.

What You Will Need To Be Successful

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, or related field.
• 0-2 years of experience in paint formulation or related R&D role within the coatings industry. Previous internship experience is a plus.
• Familiarity with ISO and regulatory requirements and standards applicable to paints and coatings (i.e. VOC regulations, REACH, etc.) preferred.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills in order to clearly and concisely explain the data gathered or problem to a chemist, customer service rep, or manufacturing floor employee.
• An ability to correctly follow directions consistently and be observant when conducting tests to provide detailed and thorough reports back to Chemists with timely follow up.
• A strong problem-solving ability to work through and recommend solutions to challenges that arise.
• A curiosity to learn, grow, and develop to take on additional responsibilities.