R&D​/Innovation Manager

Position: R&D / Innovation Manager

Location:
Chicago, Illinois. This is a full-time on-site role.

Status:
Permanent, full-time. This is a newly created opportunity!

Quadra is one of North America’s leading distributors of chemicals and ingredients, with facilities strategically located across the United States and Canada. Our people are our competitive advantage, and we are committed to delivering a best-in-class experience for customers and suppliers through expertise, collaboration, and execution.

Quadra has a well-established history of supporting customers through technical expertise, application development, formulation support, and innovation. As our U.S. Ingredients business continues to grow, we are investing in a new Ingredients Applications Lab in Chicago to bring these capabilities closer to our customers, suppliers and commercial team.

We are seeking a hands‑on R&D / Innovation Manager to launch and lead this new facility. The successful candidate will play a critical role in providing technical support across the United States, partnering with sales and product marketing teams, supporting customer innovation and helping strengthen Quadra's position as a trusted solutions provider.

This is a unique build‑and‑lead opportunity. Initially, you will serve as the lab's primary technical resource, establishing equipment, workflows, programs, and operating practices while working directly with customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders. As the business grows, you will help define future capabilities, recruit technical talent and build a high‑performing applications team that supports Quadra's long‑term growth strategy in the United States.

• Launch and operationalize the Chicago Ingredients Applications Lab, including equipment readiness, laboratory workflows, safety practices, documentation, ingredient and sample management, and day‑to‑day operating standards.
• Develop a practical lab strategy and technical‑support roadmap aligned with the growth priorities of the U.S. Ingredients business.
• Serve as the lead technical partner to the U.S. commercial team, providing formulation guidance, application troubleshooting, product comparisons, prototype development and customer‑facing technical support.
• Translate customer needs and market trends into application concepts, demonstrations and prototypes that showcase Quadra’s ingredient portfolio and create commercial opportunities.
• Partner with sales and product marketing on customer calls, technical presentations, innovation sessions, product training, and targeted market campaigns.
• Build strong working relationships with strategic suppliers and identify opportunities to support supplier growth through prototypes, application data, technical storytelling, and customer engagement.
• Create and maintain a sample and prototype library, application protocols, formulation records, and reusable technical resources for the commercial team.
• Collaborate closely with Quality, Regulatory, Operations, Marketing and the broader North American R&D network to ensure solutions are practical, compliant and aligned with customer requirements.
• Establish meaningful measures for lab activity and impact, including project pipeline, responsiveness, prototype activity, customer engagement, and commercial outcomes.
• Assess future capability and talent needs; help define roles, recruit and onboard additional technical team members as business demand grows.
• Manage the lab operating budget and recommend future equipment or capability investments based on business priorities and customer needs.
• Represent Quadra at selected customer events, supplier meetings, industry conferences, and trade shows.

• You are a builder who is energized by creating a…