R & D Manager

R&D Lab Manager
Location: Miami Gardens, Fl.
Who we are:
We’re Prime Matter Labs, a personal care product manufacturer with over 35 years of experience formulating, compounding, and filling products for some of the most successful and respected brands in the world.
We exist to bring better products to the world by empowering our customers to bring their ideas to life. We strive to be their most valuable partner, delivering a level of efficiency, service, and support unmatched in the industry.
Last year, we embarked on a bold new vision to be the leading product development and production partner in the country for emerging and established brands. To realize that vision, we’re investing at an unprecedented level in new technology, processes, and plans that will completely rethink the way that brand’s view and interact with their manufacturer. We’re building the platform that will allow us to serve as the foundation of our customer’s branded products, from their first sample to their million-unit product run, and every step in between.
Come help us build the future of the personal care and beauty landscape, one partnership at a time.
What we’re looking for:
We’re searching for team members to help envision, build, and execute the growth strategy of the company. We’re looking to add ambitious leaders across the company. We’re seeking individuals with an impressive track record of overdelivering on goals and expectations, who are constantly looking for new ways to push the envelope in their area of expertise.
How you’ll fit in:
As a leader of our R&D team at PML West, you will report directly to our Chief Science Officer and work with a team of scientists who create an engaging, exciting atmosphere full of learning opportunities and innovative new discoveries. You will lead a team of chemists who work together to enhance our current products and develop new products that leverage the latest market trends and technologies. You will use your technical knowledge and background to create products and services that drive the growth of our customers and improve the lives of their consumers. Strong communication skills and a history of developing forward thinking, innovative approaches to formulation will help you collaborate with and lead the rest of the team.
What you’ll do:
● Be the leader of our R&D team at PML West.
●Recruit, train, and coach R&D chemists that are focused on building a reputation for best-in-class partnership, and industry leading NPS scores for our company.
● Research, formulate, and refine new personal care product formulas for our branded clients.
● Create new product innovations based on your research in market and ingredient trends.
● Make lab batches
● Update lab books with formula, specifications and applicable notes and observations
● Enter formulas in Louis (PML formulation software)
● Create applicable R&D documents (ie. certificates of analysis, specification sheets, ingredient lists, etc)
● Verify and double sign lab books daily
● Provide project updates in the system
● Maintain an attainable weekly lab schedule with on time deliverables
● Technical support for R&D, troubleshoot to move projects along and meet deadlines
● Interface with customer in meetings and presentations
● Communicate to the company on behalf of R&D
● Verify formulas against lab books and the product brief for approval and publishing
● Determine lab budget annually
● Establish scorecard with KPIs and goals to present progress to the company
● Evaluate R&D resources to maintain business goals
● Annual performance reviews
● Create pathways and annual goals with the members of your R&D team.
● Establish and maintain a strong team spirit in the lab
● Continuous process improvement
● Drive new innovation ideas or concepts with the team and present internally
● Work on specialty projects with CSO
● Partner with the Quality Manager to develop and implement robust quality control
● Partner with the Regulatory Manager on regulatory compliance processes
● Partner with business development to develop and deliver against customer growth goals and an expansion of our relationship across SKUs, categories, and price points.
●Partner with the VP of Software Engineering to develop innovative new technology tools to enable a more efficient, effective product development process.
● Solidify Prime as an industry leading in new product and ingredient development.
What you have:
●10+ years’ experience working in personal care and OTC formula development
●8+ years leading product development of new, innovative formulas and ingredients
●5+ years of experience with production and scale up
●Experience leading R&D teams across at a medium to large contract manufacturer
●Track record of being able to deliver innovative solution to tough formulation problems
●Strong team building skills
●Impressive interpersonal and communication skills in small and large groups
●An interest in the role that new technology can play in product development
●The ability to make tough decisions quickly, and to take ownership over the outcome
●Undergraduate level study in organic chemistry and physical chemistry
●Preferred: Master’s degree in chemistry or related field
●Preferred: Study focus on personal care/cosmetic chemistry
What we’re offering:
●Competitive compensation package
●Health, dental, and vision benefits
●401K program
●The spirit of a startup with the security of an established, profitable industry leader
●The opportunity to make waves in a $250B industry
At Prime, we believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace makes us a more relevant, more competitive, and more resilient company. We welcome people from all backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, and experiences. Prime is an equal opportunity employer.