Senior Materials Scientist — R&D Leader in Polymers

Placements24; Durban; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and wellness benefits

Professional development allowance

Laboratory equipment access

Competitive salary

Job summary

Placements24 seeks a Senior Chemist with expertise in Materials Science to join the Durban-based R&D team. You will lead discovery, development, and characterization of novel materials with advanced properties for a range of industrial applications.

The role requires a Ph.D. in Chemistry or Materials Science, 6+ years of industrial research experience, and hands-on work with advanced material characterization techniques.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related field.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant industrial R&D experience in materials.
• Expertise in synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry and polymer chemistry.
• Hands-on experience with advanced material characterization techniques.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills; able to work independently or in a team.

Responsibilities

• Research synthesis, processing, and characterization of new materials (polymers, composites, nanomaterials).
• Design and perform experiments using spectroscopy, chromatography, and thermal analysis.
• Develop and optimize chemical processes for scalable production.
• Analyze material properties and relate to structure and processing.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support Durban product development.

Skills

Materials science

Polymer chemistry

Analytical skills

Education

Ph.D. in Chemistry/Materials Science

Tools

NMR

IR

GC

HPLC

DSC/TGA

Job description

Placements24 seeks a Senior Chemist with expertise in Materials Science to join the Durban-based R&D team. You will lead discovery, development, and characterization of novel materials with advanced properties for a range of industrial applications.

The role requires a Ph.D. in Chemistry or Materials Science, 6+ years of industrial research experience, and hands-on work with advanced material characterization techniques.