Product Development Chemist

About Dunmore International Corp:

Acquired by Steel Partners in February 2018 as part of the Diversified Industrial Segment, Dunmore manufactures innovative technical films for Aerospace, Automotive, Commercial Graphics, Packaging applications. Dunmore has deep expertise in novel coatings, films and multi-layer laminates based on 14,000 unique chemistries and constructions, and significant experience in handling foils, plastics and fabrics.  As a trusted Industry partner for over 50 years, Dunmore collaborates with customers in high growth markets to design, develop and manufacture a range of highly engineered value-added product solutions.  Dunmore clients include several Fortune 500 companies across 25+ countries and is a Gold Level Supplier to one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers.  Dunmore’s mission is to delight its customers through technical innovation, high levels of service and open collaboration to solve difficult application problems. 

 

Summary

The Product Development Chemist- Commercial Accounts is a hands-on materials and formulation leader responsible for guiding commercial product development, technical problem solving, and process optimization activities.

 

This role combines advanced polymer and coatings formulation expertise with structured technical governance. The Commercial Technical Lead drives early-stage product development and formulation direction for complex commercial opportunities, establishes technical intent and success criteria, and then transitions structured execution and scale-up activities to downstream team members.

 

This position serves as the technical authority for commercial work intake and prioritization while maintaining meaningful laboratory engagement and development ownership.

 

The Product Development Chemist- Commercial Accounts operates with high autonomy and serves as the primary technical front door for commercial work, ensuring that customer support, product development, and process optimization efforts are intentional, disciplined, and aligned with business priorities.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

 

Commercial Development Leadership

• Lead onboarding and early technical direction of commercial Development Requests (DRs).
• Evaluate technical feasibility, risk, effort, and manufacturability.
• Answer the critical business question: “What would it take?”
• Lead front-end formulation and early-stage product development for complex commercial opportunities.
  • Perform and guide initial laboratory work to establish technical direction before delegating structured execution to downstream team members.
  • Develop and refine formulations, constructions, and material solutions to meet customer performance and manufacturing requirements.
• Transition structured execution and scale-up activities to the Customer Solutions Chemist once technical direction and success criteria are defined.

Technical Services Governance

• Determine whether work should proceed as structured product development, laboratory testing, process trial, or corrective action activity within the company’s formal workflow system.
• Authorize, filter, and frame Commercial Technical Services Requests (TSRs).
• Serve as the escalation point for complex commercial technical issues.

 

Standardized Product & Process Optimization

• Identify and prioritize optimization opportunities based on:

O Engineering needs

O Ops and QA feedback

O Business impact

• Determine and direct the appropriate workflow:

O Product testing and data collection

O Internal production trials

O Corrective Actions and RCCMs

• Partner with Engineering on trial design and interpretation.
• Confirm readiness for handoff to Operations and Quality.

 

5S & Lab Execution Discipline (Commercial Tech Services)

• This responsibility is focused on execution excellence, not facilities or equipment ownership.
• Establish and drive 5S standards for wet and dry lab spaces used by the Dunmore team.
• Drive adherence to organization, cleanliness, labeling, and standard work expectations.
• Conduct periodic audits and corrective actions to maintain lab readiness.
• Reinforce execution discipline across all users of Tech Services lab spaces.

 

Cross-Functional & Customer Interface

• Partner with Business Development on customer-facing technical discussions.
• Provide technical input to guide commercial product focus and prioritization.
• Collaborate closely with Operations, Engineering, and Quality.

 

Organizational Protection

• Prevent commercial work from encroaching on Aerospace development.
• Resolve most commercial technical decisions independently.
• Escalate only issues involving:

O Material revenue or margin risk

O Strategic conflict

O Capacity-breaking commitments

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities:

• Demonstrated experience formulating and optimizing chemistry and material systems to meet performance and manufacturing constraints.
• Ability to design and interpret structured experiments (DOE, robustness studies, validation testing).
• Hands-on laboratory capability with the ability to both execute and guide technical work.
• Strong technical judgment and problem-solving ability.
• Ability to scope, prioritize, and direct work without owning all execution.
• Experience with structured workflows (e.g., development projects, trials, change management).
• Clear written and verbal communication skills

 

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or related field required. Advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in materials, coatings, films, polymers, or related manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated leadership in commercial development, technical decision-making, or process development.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, QA, and Commercial teams.

 

 

Physical Demands - OFFICE / TRAVEL

 

• Standing/Sitting 50/50%
• Walking/Bending/Stooping 60/20/20%
• Lifting Requirements: 25 pounds
• Travel by air, rail, auto (10% of time)
• Work in manufacturing area, QA lab and office areas
• Exposures - Odors, Fumes, Noise, Chemicals, Temperature, Vision strain, Moving parts.

 

 

Dunmore International Corp. is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Dunmore makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, business needs at the time.