Sr R&D Chemist

Afton Chemical Corporation is part of the New Market Corporation (NYSE: NEU) family of companies, and is one of the largest global suppliers of lubricant additives and offers a broad line of fuel additives worldwide.

Conducts complex and/or non-standard research, development, and/or performance testing activities to meet stated objectives of the Technology Development team. Focused on using theory and mechanism to drive innovation. May act as overall or technical project lead and direct the work of other technical team members assigned to the project. High level of communication and presentation skill required. Often responsible for multiple projects of varying complexity occurring at same time

• Performs and/or manages formulation, synthesis, and/or testing activities to meet established project objectives. Effective use and leadership of the Afton Product Development Process. Designs approach, test plans, and milestones to project completion.
• Develop fundamental understanding of lubricating oil performance, including developing structure/function relationships of componentry, reaction kinetics, dose-response relationships, and other mechanistic tools to deepen our understanding of our products. Use mechanistic understanding to design, and synthesize new components. Be able to practically characterize those components using standard analytical techniques, including NMR, MS, and spectroscopy.
• Evaluates and interprets data, performance, and deliverables. Provides recommendations to R&D and project leaders regarding results, deliverables, progress and challenges. Identifies and eliminates hurdles to successful project completion. Conducts special projects as assigned.
• Participates in technical and/or project reviews and presents findings as appropriates. Engages with assigned teams and cross-functional stakeholders, such as business, process, marketing, etc. Assists in determining future direction.
• Complete complex analytical testing procedures, in-depth analysis and interpretation and provide a detailed and accurate test report to the customer in a timely manner. Evaluate all test/project data to ensure accuracy, completeness and reasonability of conclusions.
• Complete collation of data, final interpretation and written test reports. Consult with the customer as necessary to review and explain results, offer insight and analytical perspective and ensure that project goals are being met.
• Lead or direct special research projects independently. Oversee technical activities and/or supervise technical team members assigned to the project.
• Understand, comply, and promote safe laboratory and work practices, including appropriate safety regulations and procedures.
• Assure that complete documentation is maintained on ISO or Quality System related activities. Participate in Quality System related activities and maintain an up-to-date understanding of the Quality System functions & responsibilities.
• Represent Afton in technical conferences, societies and other industry activities. Maintain adequate level of technical expertise and self-development through study, seminars, etc. Stay informed of advanced developments inside and outside of Afton.
• Participate in IP activities as required, including competitor reviews, freedom to practice assessments, patent filings, invention disclosures, etc

• BS/PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or equivalent.

• BS/PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or Polymer Science and Engineering.
• Experience in polymer synthesis, molecular architecture design, reaction kinetics and mechanisms, degradation studies, and material characterization is required. Knowledge of polymer chemistry, polymer physics, rheology, surfactant chemistry, solution behavior, heterogeneous and homogeneous systems, and industrial applications of polymer science is highly desirable.
• Strong expertise in analytical and structural characterization techniques for polymers, including olefin copolymers, (meth) acrylate copolymers, rubbers, and other polymeric materials.
• Strong utilization of theory and mechanism to drive inquiry and find applicable solutions
• Ability to build structure activity relations in highly complex systems
• Use of statistical analysis software for analyzing large data sets is preferred.

• Decision Making - Decision making in a timely manner based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; sometimes…