Senior Product Development Chemist

Position Overview
PPG has an exciting opportunity for a technical project leader interested in advancing automotive refinish coatings technology. The Automotive Refinish business has an opening for an S&T Product Development Chemist II, Senior position at our facility in Cleveland, OH.
The successful candidate will join the Refinish Product Development team and serve as a technical project lead for the development, optimization, and launch of new waterborne basecoat technologies, the color layer of automotive refinish coatings. This role is well suited for a highly experienced chemist, engineer, or materials scientist with a strong record of delivering formulation development, coatings innovation, polymer or dispersion technologies, and complex technical problem solving in an industrial environment.
At this level, the individual will be expected to lead technical projects, define technical strategy, make critical technical decisions, and advance projects through ambiguity. The role requires the ability to translate business and customer needs into a practical technical plan, evaluate risks, align stakeholders, and guide the technical execution needed to move programs forward.
This is an individual contributor technical leadership role. No employees are expected to report directly to this individual; however, the person in this role will be expected to influence across teams, guide younger and less experienced chemists, raise the technical capability of the group, and set a strong example for scientific rigor, laboratory safety, project ownership, and technical communication.
The role requires advanced laboratory judgment, strong formulation expertise, disciplined data interpretation, and the ability to communicate clear recommendations to technical and non-technical stakeholders. The candidate will manage multiple high-impact priorities, lead cross-functional technical discussions, and help drive development programs toward successful commercialization with minimal supervision.
Role emphasis: technical leadership, decision-making, strategic project direction, and mentorship within an individual contributor role.
Key Responsibilities
Lead the development, optimization, and evaluation of coatings formulations for waterborne automotive refinish basecoat technologies and related product platforms.
Define technical project strategy, establish experimental plans, prioritize technical work, and drive development programs from concept through commercialization.
Make critical technical decisions using sound scientific principles, experimental evidence, risk assessment, and business or customer requirements.
Lead complex technical investigations involving formulation performance, application behavior, appearance, color properties, durability, manufacturability, or product robustness.
Design, direct, and execute laboratory experiments using appropriate controls, disciplined methodology, and clear success criteria.
Translate experimental results and technical risks into actionable recommendations that influence project direction, resource priorities, and commercialization readiness.
Guide, coach, and mentor less experienced chemists in experimental design, formulation approach, data interpretation, troubleshooting, and technical communication.
Provide technical leadership to cross-functional and global project teams, including R&D, manufacturing, marketing, sales, procurement, quality, and product management.
Lead or support technology transfer, scale-up, manufacturing trials, and launch readiness efforts.
Formulate, prepare, spray apply, and evaluate standard and experimental color coatings as needed to support project objectives and technical decision-making.
Conduct and/or direct physical, chemical, application, appearance, color, and performance testing of coatings technologies.
Identify technical gaps, anticipate project risks, develop mitigation plans, and proactively remove barriers to project progress.
Communicate technical results, project status, risks, recommendations, and decision points through clear presentations and stakeholder discussions.
Build productive relationships with suppliers, customers, and broader PPG technical communities to support raw material evaluations, technology scouting, and project execution.
Maintain strong documentation practices in accordance with internal requirements, intellectual property needs, safety expectations, and project governance.
Model a safety-first mindset while leading laboratory work, promoting safe work practices, and participating in team safety initiatives.
Actively support 6S, continuous improvement, laboratory productivity, and technical best-practice development across the team.
Adhere to corporate policies, government regulations, business conduct standards, environmental requirements, and EEO guidelines.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Polymer Science, Coatings Science, or a related STEM discipline.
8+ years of professional experience in a technical, laboratory, product development, formulation, applications, or materials-related role, or an equivalent combination of advanced education and relevant industrial experience.
Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects or major technical workstreams with minimal supervision.
Proven ability to make data-driven technical decisions that advance complex projects and influence technical direction.
Strong knowledge of formulation development, experimental design, laboratory practices, data interpretation, and structured technical problem solving.
Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex formulation, application, appearance, performance, color, or manufacturing-related challenges.
Ability to mentor less experienced technical staff and guide others through experimental planning, data analysis, and technical decision-making.
Strong organizational and project leadership skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deliverables, and stakeholders.
Excellent analytical, critical thinking, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, cross-functional, and global team environment while taking ownership of technical outcomes.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.