Research Assistant, Product Development

Position Summary

This role will be for an individual contributor within Huber AgroSolutions/Miller Chemical's regional Product Development team who is accountable for product development processes from design through greenhouse testing. This is an active hands-on role; responsibilities include supporting the development of new products and materials for application in the agricultural industry to fuel future growth.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Apply known and established policies/procedures to support:
  • Development of scalable methods to produce new products as well as novel derivatives of existing products using chemical or physical modifications.   
  • Characterize and evaluate the performance of new products and/or raw materials employing state of the art methods in polymer, physical and/or analytical chemistry.
  • Development and implementation of new methods, processes and procedures.
• Follow existing company policies and procedures.
• Investigate and troubleshoot product issues and recommend concise solutions with limited guidance.
• Work under limited supervision.
• Results are presented in concise and easily understood manner.
• Apply Miller Chemical quality standards in all aspects of work.

Specialized/Technical Knowledge or Required Skills

Skills and Competencies (Existing or willing to develop.)

• Basic knowledge and understanding of chemistry or similar field.
• Familiar with Analytical methods associated with physical and elemental characterization (rheology, viscometry, ICP-OES, GM-MS, liquid chromatography, etc.).
• Experience working in a laboratory environment, to include: hazardous material handling, preparing analytical standards, and usage of general laboratory equipment.
• Familiar with safety standards of a laboratory environment.
• Experience in lab scale to pilot scale product development.
• Good presentations skills to both general and scientific audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple projects at a time and adhere to deadlines.
• Proficient in standard computer skills typically used in a lab environment (MS, electronic notebook, data analysis, etc.).

Requirements

• University level degree in chemistry, biology, agricultural science or a related technical field.
• Bachelor’s degree with 2-4 years' experience within product development OR master’s degree with 1-3 years' experience.
• Experience in agricultural and/or industrial application formulation in addition to the physical and chemical characterization techniques is a plus.
• Must be willing to relocate to Hanover, PA.