Research Scientist

Position Summary

This is a highly visible, key role within Research and Development team. The Research Scientist will provide short- and long-term research and development support for new and revamped products and/or processes, primarily with analytical chemistry support including instrumental methods. The scientist will provide an understanding of structure, composition, and properties of new/existing products, as well as take the lead in competitive analysis and quality issues (contamination, root cause analysis) with our QC teams within Vantage. This individual is expected to work closely with their R&D laboratory colleagues, as well as regularly interact with the plant production technical team, QC analytical team, regulatory, technical service, and business leadership. Laboratory safety is a must and it is expected that the incumbent is familiar with OSHA standards and best practices and will be a positive safety contributor at Vantage.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

List the key responsibilities for this role.

• Understand instrumental analytical chemistry procedures and technologies and incorporate this understanding into applications that add value to company products and processes.

• Develop, improve, and customize equipment, processes and analytical methods.

• Confer with Company scientists and engineers to conduct analyses for research projects, interpret test results and/or develop new or non-standard tests.

• Safely perform chemical reactions using best practices

• Execution on the technical aspects needed to support the strategic direction and sales requirements.

• Timely completion of Analytical Requests (ARs) (> 67% on-time generation of AR summary reports).

• Maintain thorough laboratory notebooks records of experiments performed, procedures followed and analyses completed

• Provide regular status updates on each assigned project and timely completion of Project Summary Reports.

Education & Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry or related field is required.

• Experience: A minimum of 5 years of experience working in a lab setting.

Knowledge, Skills, & Talents

Detail the specific competencies, attributes, and skills needed for success in this role. Provide a bullet-point list of desired qualities, such as technical skills, interpersonal abilities, and any unique talents relevant to the position.

• Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of chemical processes and transformations. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

• Prior experience using Microsoft Suite

• Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications and ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

• Proven ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems and to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete .variables.

• Strong instrumentation skills, experience with operating, maintenance and troubleshooting of analytical instrumentation.

Pay and Benefits

The estimated base pay range for this position is: $104,000 - $156,000 annually.  Actual pay will be determined based on education, certifications, experience, qualifications, skills and geographic location.  This position is eligible to participate in a short-term incentive program.

Vantage offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees, including:

• Medical, HSA, dental, vision

• FSA (limited purpose, dependent care, and commuter/parking)

• Life and AD&D insurance

• Accident, hospital indemnity and critical illness insurance

• Short- and long-term disability

• EAP, identity theft protection

• Paid time off, Parental Leave

• 401(k) with company match

Equal Employment Opportunity

Vantage is an equal opportunity employer.  Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected category. 

About Vantage

Vantage provides natural solutions to our customers’ technical performance and marketing needs through a unique combination of chemistry, application expertise and service. Underpinned by our broad portfolio of formulations, ingredients and actives that are built on a backbone of sustainable oils, fats and their derivatives, Vantage targets selected markets and applications including personal care, food, surface treatment, agriculture, pharma, and consumer and industrial performance. Vantage is headquartered in Deerfield, IL., operates in 11 countries worldwide and employs more than 1,000 talented professionals focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences with every interaction.

We are a dynamic people-centered organization where you’ll be part of a collaborative global team. Embracing our cultural diversity, we learn from each other to constantly improve, adapt and iterate. We value the voices and talents of our colleagues, empowering them to drive their unique ideas to completion. We’re convinced that exceptionally motivated employees produce outstanding results and we celebrate them by fostering a culture of recognition, development, learning, excellence and shared achievement. Most importantly, we know you’re going to like it here.  For more information visit: vantagegrp.com or LinkedIn/vantage.