About the roleDow North America Dow Industrial Solutions TS&D group has an exciting opportunity for a
TS&D Leader/Aircraft Deicing Fluids (ADF) position located in
Midland, MI.
The selected candidate will be responsible for the management and career development of laboratory operations team members aligned to the Midland DIS R&D/TS&D laboratories, along with focusing on application and formulation development, product qualification, and innovation at customers in the ADF market.
As TS&D Leader, you will provide day-to-day supervision and leadership to the Midland TS&D technician team (9 Dow technicians and 3 contractors) and be accountable for the alignment of people resources to value generating R&D/TS&D projects in support of business strategy across many DIS technology spaces. The ADF TS&D responsibilities focus on serving as the technical interface between Dow and ADF customers and working closely with customers to understand needs and develop innovative solutions utilizing Dow products. Additionally, your responsibilities will comprise of active engagement with the broader R&D organization for product development, as well as with Sales to define customer-driven opportunities. Travel to customers and participation in conference and industry trade shows is expected in this role, as aligned with customer and project needs.
ADF TS&D Responsibilities / Duties- Partner in a cross-functional team environment comprising commercial, manufacturing, product stewardship and supply chain team members to provide product and technical support to customers.
- Develop in-depth technical knowledge of products, industry standards, regulations, and product application to support Aircraft Deicing Fluids market.
- Enable business preservation and growth in the Aircraft Deicing Fluids market through strong technical support, product qualification and new technology development. Providing technical support consists of product recommendations, and problem solving for Dow products. Focal point for customer product and specification technical requests.
- Act as subject matter expert (SME) for the ADF business and provide necessary technical support for Supply Chain, Manufacturing & Tech Center, Quality Assurance, and Product Stewardship.
- Develop technical training presentations and provide appropriate training for all ADF customers, distributors, and internal stakeholders e.g. sales, marketing, and CIG personnel.
- Generate laboratory data to support customer driven projects and placement of Dow products in the industry. Proficient with JMP statistical analysis software.
- Develop and maintain formulation chemistry expertise (manufacturing and/or process research experience) for large scale batch blending processes.
- Provide direction to the aircraft deicing fluids customer testing laboratory team, which analyzes 4,500+ customer samples per season, supporting ~300 airports across the U.S. and Canada. Act as focal point for specific customer sample requests and troubleshooting activities.
- Keep current with technical understanding of key formulation additives such Type IV ADF thickeners & surfactants, corrosion inhibitors & metal deactivators, pH buffers & hard water stabilizers used in existing portfolio of Dow ADF products.
- Actively participate in the SAE G-12 Aircraft Ground Deicing Committee by participating in industry working groups and sponsoring industry standard(s). In addition, attend the annual SAE conferences and engage with key customers.
- Uses broad market, customer, and application knowledge and in-depth understanding of competitive technologies to solve complex technical issues.
- Delivers presentations or reports that distill complex ideas into clear results and proposals; communicates appropriately to influence internal and external audiences.
- Where appropriate securing intellectual property on key technologies and compositions
TS&D Leader Responsibilities / Duties- Recruiting, developing, and retaining diverse talent and developing an inclusive, high-performing team, managing TS&D laboratory technician resources for DIS technical platforms.
- Leading the customer analytical laboratory operations teams for Aircraft Deicing Fluids (ADF), High-Temperature Thermal Fluids (HTTF), and Low-Temperature Thermal Fluids (LTTF) and ensuring each lab safely maintains sample analysis turnaround expectations.
- Leading the product development laboratory operations teams for the Lubricants, Oxygenated Solvents, I&I Cleaning, and Coatings market segments, along with the alkoxylation mini-plant.
- Accountable for people development including conducting EDP discussions and holding regular 1:1 meetings with team members. Partner with leadership on identifying and implementing growth opportunity areas for employees.
- Ensures the laboratory teams are using sound scientific methods and contributing to project documentation and communications.
- Accountable for performance management, including yearly employee goals, end-of-year performance evaluations and reviews, promotion packages, and delivery of balance of consequences.
- Actively partner with technical project leaders to manage technician resources needed for projects globally. Removes roadblocks to ensure progress as needed. Partner with leadership to ensure a robust capital plan is in place to grow capabilities.
- Support and drive improvements in operations and digital capabilities.
- Serves as the EH&S advocate for the work group, ensuring all individuals understand and adhere to policies and procedures, responsible for ensuring safe operation of all laboratory equipment by lab staff. Serves as representative on the building SAC team. Leads team in promotion of best safety practices, habits, and behaviors. Approval of low-level MOCs.
- Organize and facilitate monthly team meetings to ensure proper communication of important safety- and business-related topics.
Qualifications- A minimum of a Bachelor's degree in chemistry, engineering, or science-related discipline or relevant military experience at or above a U.S. E5 ranking or Canadian Petty Officer 2nd Class or Sergeant degree is required OR 12 years of relevant work experience in lieu of a Bachelor's degree is required.
- Masters degree or PhD preferred.
- This position may require occasional travel (up to 20%).
- A minimum requirement for this U.S. based position is the ability to work legally in the United States. No visa sponsorship/support is available for this position, including for any type of U.S. permanent residency (green card) process.
Skills- Strategic Leadership: Ability to lead laboratory operations, align technical resources with business priorities, develop talent, and execute TS&D and R&D strategies that support growth across multiple Industrial Solutions technology platforms.
- Team Management: Ability to recruit, coach, develop, and retain high-performing technical teams while managing performance, resource allocation, employee development plans, and succession planning.
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Ability to work effectively across commercial, manufacturing, supply chain, product stewardship, quality, sales, marketing, and R&D organizations to deliver customer-focused solutions and business results.
- Innovation Management: Ability to drive formulation development, product qualification, technology commercialization, and customer-driven innovation while identifying opportunities for intellectual property creation and business growth.
- Stakeholder Management: Ability to build strong relationships with customers, distributors, industry organizations, and internal partners by serving as a trusted technical advisor, resolving complex issues, and influencing business outcomes.
Notes: this role does not provide relocation assistance.
Benefits - What Dow offers youWe invest in you.
Dow invests in total rewards programs to help you manage all aspects of you: your pay, your health, your life, your future, and your career. You bring your background, talent, and perspective to work every day. Dow rewards that commitment by investing in your total wellbeing.
Here are just a few highlights of what you would be offered as a Dow employee:
- Equitable and market-competitive base pay and bonus opportunity across our global markets, along with locally relevant incentives.
- Benefits and programs to support your physical, mental, financial, and social well-being, to help you get the care you need...when you need it.
- Competitive retirement program that may include company-provided benefits, savings opportunities, financial planning, and educational resources to help you achieve your long term financial-goals.
- Employee stock purchase programs (availability varies depending on location).
- Student Debt Retirement Savings Match Program (U.S. only).
- Dow will take the value of monthly student debt payments and apply them as if they are contributions to the Employees' Savings Plan (401(k)), helping employees reach the Company match.
- Robust medical and life insurance packages that offer a variety of coverage options to meet your individual needs. Travel insurance is also available in certain countries/locations.
- Opportunities to learn and grow through training and mentoring, work experiences, community involvement and team building.
- Workplace culture empowering role-based flexibility to maximize personal productivity and balance personal needs.
- Competitive yearly vacation allowance.
- Paid time off for new parents (birthing and non-birthing, including adoptive and foster parents).
- Paid time off to care for family members who are sick or injured.
- Paid time off to support volunteering and Employee Resource Group's (ERG) participation.
- Wellbeing Portal for all Dow employees, our one-stop shop to promote wellbeing, empowering employees to take ownership of their entire wellbeing journey.
- On-site fitness facilities to help stay healthy and active (availability varies depending on location).
- Employee discounts for online shopping, cinema tickets, gym memberships and more.
- Additionally, some of our locations might offer:
- Transportation allowance (availability varies depending on location)
- Meal subsidiaries/vouchers (availability varies depending on location)
- Carbon-neutral transportation incentives e.g. bike to work (availability varies depending on location)
Join our team, we can make a difference together.
