Position Title: Senior R&D Chemist / Product Development Scientist

Location: Lincolnton, North Carolina

Professional Direct Hire

Description: HTI is seeking a Senior R&D Chemist / Product Development Scientist for a client in the textile and nonwoven industry. This role will focus on the development, testing, and scale-up of innovative textile and nonwoven materials, coatings, and finishing technologies for industrial and performance applications. This position is ideal for candidates with experience in polymer chemistry, textile finishing, coatings, surface treatments, and laboratory-to-production scale-up within technical textiles, nonwovens, or related advanced materials industries. This position is Direct Hire with a salary range of $95,000 – $100,000 depending on experience.
What They Offer:

• Full benefits package – Medical, Dental, Vision, EAP, 401k Match
  (Start day 1)
• 4 weeks of vacation
• Opportunity to work on innovative technical textile and nonwoven product development
• Collaborative R&D environment with cross-functional teams
• Career growth within a global technical textiles organization
  

What You Need:

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Polymer Science, Textile Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Fiber Science, or related field
• 3+ years of experience in R&D, product development, or materials development
• Experience within technical textiles, nonwovens, coatings, polymer finishing, or performance materials preferred
• Hands-on experience with coatings, impregnation, textile finishing, or surface treatment technologies
• Experience conducting durability and performance testing such as abrasion, flammability, chemical resistance, weathering, or colorfastness testing
• Familiarity with analytical laboratory instrumentation such as FTIR, SEM, HPLC, GC, XPS, or related testing methods preferred
• Experience supporting lab-to-production scale-up and manufacturing implementation
• Strong technical documentation, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally with manufacturing, quality, operations, commercial, and customer-facing teams
• Experience supporting customer or partner technical discussions is a plus
• Willingness to travel as needed

What Your Role Will Look Like:
The Senior R&D Chemist / Product Development Scientist will support the research, formulation, testing, and commercialization of advanced technical textile and nonwoven products.

• Develop and optimize coatings, finishing processes, and surface treatment technologies for technical textile and nonwoven applications
• Conduct laboratory experiments, material characterization, and performance validation testing
• Support scale-up of lab-developed technologies into manufacturing and production environments
• Collaborate with manufacturing and quality teams to ensure successful implementation of new products and processes
• Evaluate new raw materials, chemistries, and applications for future product development opportunities
• Prepare technical documentation including formulations, specifications, test reports, and process parameters
• Support customer-facing projects by presenting technical findings and performance data
• Participate in continuous improvement and sustainability initiatives including PFAS-free or environmentally responsible technologies
• Assist with intellectual property, patent documentation, and technical reporting as needed
• Track project milestones, timelines, and development activities across cross-functional teams
• Serve as a technical resource for production, operations, and commercial teams
• Perform additional duties as assigned

About HTI
Human Technologies, Inc. (HTI) has been a trusted partner since 1999, collaborating with leading companies to deliver tailored solutions for workforce management, development, and retention. HTI is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/D/F/V/SO.
INDPRO