Innovation Manager

The Opportunity

• Well established small company, award winning collaborative culture, many long term team members
• Newly-created role
• Develop innovative polymer-based materials for coated textile applications keep the innovation pipeline full
• Be THE go-to person for next-gen product development : broad, cross-disciplinary role with tremendous opportunity to leverage current technology base for future expansion into new markets
• Succession planning role outstanding long term career path to become the company expert and ultimately lead the technical team

What You’ll Do

• Maintain current knowledge of emerging technologies and opportunities for the Company to develop new innovative materials and processes that align with future applications and market opportunities of interest
• Directly lead development of market-focused next-gen and brand-new products including generating IP : keep the Company leaning forward to solve problems customers may not have even fully articulated
• Manage technicians and work hands-on in the lab this is NOT a remote role
• Work closely with Operations and Engineering : develop strong internal relationships at all levels to facilitate getting line time for new product trials, understand operator challenges to optimize manufacturability, support Process Engineering team with material or formulation adjustments etc.
• Educate and support the Sales team in understanding the key benefits of new products, to ensure successful commercialization
• Analyze existing product performance, characterize materials be the expert in existing product lines
• Write technical papers, give presentations at industry conferences and technical events to promote the Company’s innovation leadership
• Interface with customers for product testing / trials and technical support, to ensure the correct product selection with the right characteristics for a given application.

The Profile

Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Polymer Science, Polymer Engineering or similar relevant discipline is REQUIRED.

Advanced degree very helpful.

• 5+ years industrial (i.e. non academic) experience formulating polymer-based products, including coatings technology and formulation is REQUIRED
• Meaningful cross-disciplinary experience spanning product and process development : you enjoy the lab but are also comfortable supporting production
• Solid understanding of structure-property relationships specific to the interaction between materials, with proven practical application in real-world problem solving and product development / innovation.

This is REQUIRED. Direct experience with composites and / or laminated materials very helpful

• Excellent analytical and material characterization skills including statistical analysis, failure analysis etc. you can get to the root cause of a problem and also offer solutions
• Practical problem solving and results orientation you like to focus on outcomes, not on process for its own sake
• Good communications, public speaking and presentation skills you’re comfortable presenting to audiences of varying technical knowledge and can communicate at all levels internally and externally
• Good EQ and diplomatic skills you know how to get things done, how to influence and collaborate without a direct line of authority
• Good sense of humor and manageable ego are firm requirements!
• Willing to live / relocate to the York, PA area and travel 10-20%
30+ days ago