Senior Formulation Chemist: Personal Care & OTC Innovation

Automatic Data Processing, Inc.; Fullerton (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k retirement plan

Flexible spending accounts

Life and disability coverage

Voluntary benefits

Job summary

McKenna Labs seeks a Senior Formulation Chemist to lead development, reformulation, and commercialization of personal care and OTC products for contract manufacturing. You will drive projects from concept to launch, collaborating with Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure manufacturability and compliance.

The ideal candidate brings strong expertise in emulsions, surfactants, and active ingredients, plus hands-on scale-up experience and mentoring skills in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Cosmetic Science, or related scientific discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of formulation experience in personal care, cosmetics, and/or OTC drug products.
• Experience developing products from concept through commercialization.
• Strong knowledge of emulsions, surfactant systems, active ingredients, preservative systems, rheology modifiers, OTC monograph products.

Responsibilities

• Develop new and innovative formulations aligned with customer objectives, emerging market trends, and regulatory requirements.
• Reformulate existing products to improve performance, cost, manufacturability, or regulatory compliance.
• Conduct laboratory experiments, stability studies, compatibility testing, and product performance evaluations.
• Translate bench-scale formulas into pilot and commercial manufacturing processes.
• Provide technical support during scale-up, validation, and commercial production.
• Troubleshoot formulation and manufacturing issues and recommend corrective actions.
• Collaborate with customers throughout the product development process, presenting prototypes, technical data, and project updates.
• Evaluate and qualify new raw materials, technologies, and suppliers.
• Maintain detailed formulation records, technical reports, and project documentation.
• Review product specifications and assist with technical transfer documentation.
• Work closely with Regulatory Affairs to ensure compliance with FDA, OTC Monograph, customer, and international requirements.
• Monitor industry trends, consumer insights, competitive products, and emerging technologies to identify innovation opportunities.
• Mentor junior chemists and laboratory personnel.
• Participate in customer meetings, trade shows, supplier presentations, and innovation initiatives.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, delivering high quality products on time.
• Onsite position.

Skills

Emulsions

Surfactants

Active ingredients

Preservatives

Rheology modifiers

OTC products

Stability testing

Project management

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or related field

Job description

McKenna Labs seeks a Senior Formulation Chemist to lead development, reformulation, and commercialization of personal care and OTC products for contract manufacturing. You will drive projects from concept to launch, collaborating with Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure manufacturability and compliance.

The ideal candidate brings strong expertise in emulsions, surfactants, and active ingredients, plus hands-on scale-up experience and mentoring skills in a