Job Family Group:Sales and Business Development
Technical Director, Pavement Technologies (Pavement & Dispersants)We are seeking a bold, experienced technical leader to elevate our global Pavement and Dispersants technical organization. You will lead innovation, product development, technical service, pilot plant operations, and our Charleston, Tulsa and European laboratories while building the capabilities, partnerships, and disciplined processes needed to accelerate growth. The successful candidate will bring a record of developing high-performing teams, advancing Open Innovation, and creating productive collaborations with customers, universities, research institutions, and external technology partners.
How you will impact Ingevity:Reporting to the Global VP, Pavement Technologies, the Technical Director is a key member of the leadership team responsible for the global technical organization supporting the Pavement and Dispersants businesses. This leader will define technical strategy, build organizational capability, advance Open Innovation, and ensure technical resources are focused on the priorities that deliver the greatest customer and business value.
Key Responsibilities:- Lead a global, multi-site technical organization encompassing innovation, product development, applications, technical service, pilot plant operations, and the European laboratory.
- Translate technical investments into commercial outcomes through effective prioritization, customer engagement, and successful product commercialization.
- Build and lead an Open Innovation program that expands access to external knowledge, capabilities, and technologies through creative partnerships with customers, suppliers, universities, research institutions, and other outside organizations
- Create a disciplined workforce planning and refine an established portfolio-management process to prioritize and resource innovation, customer projects, plant support, industry data generation, sales support, and technical service activities
- Implement project-management frameworks and tools that clarify priorities, allocate work, track progress, and improve the timeliness and predictability of technical delivery.
- Continuously improve technical workflows, governance, decision making, and project handoffs to reduce complexity, accelerate execution, and enable the team to focus on its highest-value work.
- Assess the organization's structure, skills, processes, tools, and external capabilities, and implement a roadmap that advances the technical organization to its next level of performance.
- Collaborate with executives and leadership teams to drive the IngeviWay culture of "Build, Inspire, and Lead", through advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion with integrity and ethical behavior.
- Develop cohesive teams and capable leaders to build a world-class technical and innovation organization in the markets we serve.
- Lead the end-to-end product development lifecycle for pavement additives and AgChem dispersants, from concept and business case development through inception, field validation and scale-up.
- Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to drive innovation and deliver high-quality, market-relevant solutions.
- Build organizational capability through active employee development, succession planning, and clear accountability so technical teams have the skills, leadership, and resources needed to meet business demands.
- Manage direct reports by providing timely, constructive feedback, coaching, performance assessment, and development opportunities.
- Keep up to date on new developments in pavement additives and AgChem dispersants specifications, and related industry trends.
- Ensure the Pavement Technologies innovation pipeline is robust and aligned with market insights, customer needs, agency specifications, contractor requirements, and emerging infrastructure trends.
- Manage the departmental budget and allocate resources strategically to maximize customer and business impact, support sustainable growth, and maintain high-quality standards.
Defining the Growth Pathway (Vision and Strategy):This role is intended for a genuine technology visionary. Beyond running an effective technical organization, this leader is expected to define where pavement and dispersant technology is going over the next decade and to position Ingevity to lead there.
- Author and own a 5- to 10-year technology roadmap that connects long-horizon infrastructure, regulatory, and sustainability trends to a funded, staged portfolio of programs with clear decision points.
- Lead the technical agenda for sustainability and decarbonization in pavements, including warm-mix and low-energy technologies, high-recycled-content (RAP/RAS) systems, bio-based and renewable feedstocks, durability and life-extension, and credible lifecycle/EPD substantiation.
- Anticipate regulatory and specification change (agency specifications, performance-based testing, emissions, chemical registration) and shape it proactively through standards bodies, agency engagement, and published industry data.
- Build and steward the intellectual property strategy - patent estate, trade secrets, freedom-to-operate, and defensive positioning - as a deliberate competitive asset rather than a by-product of projects.
- Support inorganic growth by scouting, technically evaluating, and integrating acquisition, licensing, and venture targets in partnership with corporate development.
- Modernize how the organization innovates, including high-throughput and statistically designed experimentation, predictive modeling, data management, and AI/digital tools that shorten development cycles.
- Serve as a visible technical voice of Ingevity with customers, agencies, industry associations, and conferences, translating complex science into a compelling case for change.
What you need to succeed:- Advanced degree in chemistry or a related technical field required; PhD preferred, with 15+ years of relevant industrial experience in innovation, product development or applications technology.
- Demonstrated experience building, leading, or materially advancing an effective Open Innovation program within a technical or product-development organization
- Proven ability to identify, structure, and develop productive collaborations with customers, suppliers, universities, research institutions, start-ups, consultants, and other external technology partners.
- Exceptional workforce-planning and portfolio-management capability, with experience allocating technical resources across innovation, customer support, manufacturing needs, commercial priorities, and long-term capability development.
- Strong process orientation with a record of simplifying workflows, improving governance, and increasing the speed, quality, and predictability of technical execution.
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams through complex and competing demands while maintaining strategic focus, organizational resilience, and employee engagement.
- Combines intellectual curiosity, constructive challenge, and a bias for action; encourages teams to question constraints, think bigger, and move with appropriate speed
- Excellent analytical and strategic thinking skills required.
- Team-oriented, collaborative, and flexible, with demonstrated ability to align teams around clear priorities and deliver intended outcomes.
- Proven track record of delivering technical results and leading organizations through change.
- Ability to partner effectively with senior leaders, engage stakeholders in sound decision making, and lead complex cross-functional initiatives with strong project management discipline.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Position based in Charleston, SC
- Willing to travel as much as 30% when required.
Preferred Skills:- Knowledge of pavement additives and dispersant formulated solutions.
- Global or multi-national business experience.
- Strongly networked and well-informed about the pavement additives and AgChem dispersants materials industries.
What success looks like:- First 6 months: Has assessed the global technical organization, defined the target structure and capability gaps, built relationships with the top customers and agency stakeholders, and delivered a point of view on portfolio priorities.
- First 12 months: Has published an endorsed technology roadmap and growth-pathway thesis, implemented the portfolio-management and project-management operating rhythm, and launched the Open Innovation program with at least the first partnerships in place.
- 24 months: Innovation pipeline value and stage-gate throughput have measurably improved, new-product vitality is trending to target, the organization is staffed and developing against the capability roadmap, and at least one new growth pathway has moved from concept to funded development.
Leadership attributes we will assess:- Strategic foresight - Sees around corners, frames the long-term technical thesis, and makes it concrete enough for others to act on.
- Technical credibility - Earns the confidence of PhD scientists, plant operators, and industry stakeholders
- Talent magnetism - Attracts, develops, and retains scarce technical talent; builds leaders, not just projects.
- Decisiveness under ambiguity - Kills weak programs early, funds conviction bets, and is transparent about the reasoning.
- Commercial instinct - Defines the win in commercial terms and stays accountable to it.
- Global and cross-cultural agility - Leads through matrix and cultural complexity across three regions.
- Change leadership - Challenges the status quo constructively and brings the organization along.
