TS​/AD Technical Leader - Injection Molding

As the Technical Service / Application Development (TS/AD) Technical Leader at Eastman, you will serve as the primary technical lead supporting regional and global strategic marketing initiatives for the Specialty Plastics business, with a focus on injection‑molded applications for cosmetic packaging and durables. The position is located onsite at the Kingsport, TN headquarters.

Lead launch‑phase customer projects, engage with value‑chain customers, influence stakeholders, deliver world‑class technical support and on‑site consultation, collaborate with cross‑functional teams, conduct customer seminars, translate insights into actionable development opportunities, and drive business growth.

• Lead launch‑phase projects and technical initiatives to enable market activation and campaigns, including validations and qualifications through field trials.
• Engage proactively with value‑chain customers (e.g. converter, OEMs, brands) to drive solution adoptions while identifying application drivers, unmet needs, and new business opportunities; maintain strong relationships with existing industry contacts to enhance collaboration.
• Support opportunity management processes that prioritize, track, and drive opportunities to align with business strategy (new business, protect, & grow opportunities); use consultative selling skills to communicate value and capture opportunities for execution.
• Collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, R&D, Product Management, and Manufacturing to translate customer needs in durable and cosmetic packaging applications into differentiated polymer and application solutions.
• Serve as the technical authority on injection‑molding processes and guide junior team members to provide world‑class technical support for high‑complexity issues, ensuring timely resolution and sustained customer satisfaction; lead troubleshooting including failure analysis, process optimization and implementation support.
• Design, execute, and interpret application and validation trials (bench, pilot, and field) and translate results into scalable recommendations and specification changes.
• Conduct customer training, seminars and conference presentations to demonstrate value propositions technically by educating the industry on polymer science and deepening relationships with key accounts.
• Translate customer feedback and market trends into prioritized development opportunities; partner with R&D to advance concepts.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation and tools — including test methods, failure‑mode playbooks, technical reports, publications, and application guides — to institutionalize knowledge and accelerate response times.
• Mentor and coach technology and business colleagues to raise technical capability across the organization; share learnings and best practices through internal training sessions.
• Represent Eastman externally at customer meetings and visits, technical audits, and industry forums and conferences; support commercial negotiations with technical evidence.

Education and experience requirements for this senior technical role are significant.

• Education Requirements: Ph.D. degree with 10+ years of experience or Master’s degree with 20+ years of experience in the industry. Degree in materials science or engineering, polymer science or engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, or a related field is required.
• Experience Requirements: Strong technical knowledge and business understanding of polymer and plastics relevant to industry; experience in cosmetic packaging and durables applications, as well as downstream connections, is highly preferred.
• Extensive injection‑molding expertise supporting commercial products—preferably in cosmetic packaging, closures, durable consumer goods, or medical/lifestyle packaging.
• Understanding of structure–property and processing relationships of thermoplastic polymers, and familiarity with design of experiment (DOE) and problem‑solving methodologies.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively interact with customers and internal teams. Ability to build effective working relationships with customers.