About the Role:The Technical Director leads CRC's chemistry R&D and QC/QA teams and serves as the company's subject-matter expert on all chemistry, formulation, and manufacturing-process questions. Beyond the lab, this person is expected to operate as a business partner: supporting the sales process with customers, partnering with manufacturing to keep production efficient and repeatable, and contributing to strategic decisions that grow the company - new products, new markets, and stronger margins.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role, not a purely administrative one. The right candidate is a strong chemist and leader first, communicator, and business thinker second - CRC needs all in the same person.
Responsibilities:Technical & R&D Leadership- Serve as the subject-matter expert for all chemistry-related work, guiding R&D efforts on new products and processes and enhancing existing formulations for quality, safety, efficiency, and performance.
- Direct R&D programs to meet organizational needs and capitalize on new product and customer opportunities.
- Develop and monitor R&D plans, ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.
- Explore new scientific technologies and approaches; keep abreast of competitive products and technology advances.
- Oversee raw material, in-process, and final product testing, ensuring best practices in material testing and QC.
- Ensure compliance with ISO and EH&S requirements and stay current on evolving regulatory and sustainability requirements (e.g., REACH, TSCA, VOC standards) that affect formulations and customers.
Manufacturing Partnership- Support Manufacturing to ensure high product quality, repeatability, and customer satisfaction.
- Own technology transfers from lab to plant - translating lab-scale formulations into processes that are practical, repeatable, and tolerant of real plant conditions and equipment.
- Work with Manufacturing to improve efficiency, yield, and consistency of existing product lines, and to troubleshoot process or quality issues as they arise.
Sales & Customer Support- Provide the sales team with technical advice and support throughout the sales process.
- Meet directly with customers and prospects to understand and refine specification and performance needs.
- Develop and revise project scope for customer opportunities, including realistic time and cost estimates.
- Represent the company at conferences and customer visits, building CRC's credibility in the market.
Team & People Leadership- Hire, train, manage, and evaluate R&D chemists and the QC/QA Manager; set clear goals and hold the team accountable.
- Build and sustain a productive, customer-focused R&D culture centered on ownership, initiative, and continuous improvement.
- Develop talent within the organization and make recommendations for promotions and growth.
- Make personnel changes when needed to maintain team performance.
Business & Strategic Contribution- Participate as a member of the leadership team, contributing to business decisions beyond the lab.
- Help identify new markets and product opportunities where CRC can develop, manufacture, and compete.
- Manage the innovation portfolio and IP lifecycle, collaborating with Legal on intellectual property matters.
- Align R&D roadmaps and budgets with corporate strategic plans; identify gaps and prepare plans to address them.
- Maintain department budgets and metrics.
Qualifications / Requirements / Experience:Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field; Master's preferred, PhD preferred over Master's.
- 10+ years of experience in the chemical industry, with substantial hands-on formulation/polymer chemistry work - not solely analytical or QC experience.
- 5+ years in a managerial capacity, or a clear history of increasing responsibility demonstrating the ability to lead.
- Direct experience partnering with or supporting a sales function - comfortable in front of customers and translating technical detail into business value.
- Working knowledge of manufacturing/processing equipment and scale-up from lab to plant production.
- Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills, with a proven record of managing teams and resources.
Preferred / Differentiating Qualifications:- Background specifically in polymer or resin chemistry.
- Experience with product line simplification or ruggedization for manufacturing reliability.
- Familiarity with regulatory/sustainability requirements affecting specialty chemical products.
- Comfort with lab and process data tools (LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System), statistical process control, design of experiments).
- Experience with patents, freedom-to-operate analysis, or IP strategy.
- A track record of staying with employers long-term and growing into broader responsibility.
What Success Looks Like in Year One- R&D and QC teams are meeting budget and quality objectives with clear accountability.
- Sales reports the technical director as a responsive, credible partner in customer conversations.
- Manufacturing sees measurable improvement in efficiency, repeatability, or yield on at least one product line.
- At least one new product or market opportunity has been identified and scoped.
If you are a motivated individual with a strong attention to detail, we encourage you to apply for this position. We offer competitive pay, benefits, and opportunities for career growth within our organization.
