Product Development & R&D Lab Lead

Job Description

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & R&D LAB LEAD required by Career Wise Recruitment for our composite materials client in County Clare. The PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & R&D LAB LEAD role sits in the Marketing and Innovation department and will manage the development lab and supervise one R&D Technician. The successful candidate will lead development projects from understanding customer need, concept, desktop review, sample development, prototyping, proof-of-concept testing, production trials and technical evaluation through to manufacturing implementation.

The role is primarily development-focused rather than research-led, with an emphasis on practical problem-solving, rapid prototyping, application testing, material qualification, process support and delivery of commercially relevant product solutions.

Key Responsibilities Lead product, material, sample, and process development projects from concept through prototyping, testing, trials, qualification, and implementation. Manage the development lab, including equipment, test capability, lab organisation, safe working practices, consumables, documentation, and day-to-day priorities. Line manage one R&D Technician, including workload planning, task allocation, technical guidance, coaching, and delivery of lab and project activities. Carry out and/or oversee hands on prototyping, sample development, colour matching, proof-of-concept testing, and use of relevant lab and production equipment.

Plan, organise, and execute development and production trials, including material preparation, testing support, data collection, analysis, reporting, and follow up actions. Support raw material qualification, supplier evaluation, external testing, and technical supplier engagement. Work closely with commercial teams, operations, quality, suppliers and customers to translate technical requirements into practical product and process solutions. Maintain clear technical documentation, test records, development data, trial reports, and supporting information for grants, vouchers, R&D tax credits, and project reviews.

Identify, develop, and validate practical test protocols to characterise the application performance of new and existing products. Conduct desktop reviews into materials, technologies, testing methods, processing options, market applications, and competing solutions where required to support development decisions. Support process development and improvement by translating lab and prototype findings into scalable manufacturing trials and production-ready processes. Communicate technical findings clearly through verbal updates, written reports, presentations, trial summaries, project documentation, and technical recommendations.

Stay aware of relevant material innovations, processing methods, testing methods, customer requirements, and competing solutions in target markets. Demonstrate an open, collaborative, practical, and professional approach across all areas of responsibility. Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications and Experience Required The successful candidate must be a self-starter with strong technical background. Curious and results driven, they need to have very strong organizational skills to manage projects and enjoy the hands of experience of seeing the development projects from start to completion.

They need to be able to communicate internally and externally, understanding new concepts and technologies and applying them quickly. The candidate needs to be able to efficiently work with multiple stakeholders in the organization, being able to Identify user needs and understand how to meet those needs through online content. BS Degree with a minimum of 4+ years of experience, or MS degree with 2+ years of experience, or entry-level PhD degree in Materials Science, Polymer Science, Polymer Chemistry, Plastics Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or other related disciplines.

Must be able to demonstrate experience in a body of technical work, including but not limited to: examples of experimental and/or test design, demonstration of familiarity with data analysis, interpretation of and drawing conclusions from a collection of basic data, and technical documents and/or patents. Demonstrated and proven end-to-end project management with the ability to organize, prioritize and manage multiple priorities in a fastpaced environment.

Oral, written, and visual communication skills. Curious and progress/results driven. Confident, independently-motivated self-starter. Ability to network/communicate within the group, outside the group and across disciplines. Demonstrated aptitude to understand new concepts and technologies and apply them quickly. Demonstrate adequate knowledge of Health, Safety and Environment protocols.

Skills:

Product Development materials projects