Senior Scientist

Key Skills

Java Programming, Python Programming, SQL

Job Description

Deodorants is one of the most dynamic business within the Unilever portfolio having the enviable position of being number one in most of the key markets around the globe. More than 4 out of every 10 deodorant products sold carry the Unilever logo on the back. Most people know us by our powerhouse brands such as Dove, Degree, Axe, Suave and the latest addition of Schmidt’s Natural deodorants. The dominance of our brands is backed up by 20 years of double-digit growth. In order to maintain this growth in an ever-changing ultra-competitive environment, Unilever has placed additional focus on smart, fast and impactful innovation which at its core, comes from a cultural embrace of what internally is known as the Founders Mindset. The position will be part of a cross functional global innovation team we have in Trumbull, CT. The team is charged with the responsibility of shaping and executing the innovation strategy which defines the future product portfolio for antiperspirant stick and deodorant stick consumers around the globe. Working in Trumbull, you will be working alongside one your most important and experienced internal customers, the NA regional business, and be part of a premier global R&D center.

Who You Are & What You’ll Do

This is an exciting opportunity to join a global innovation team as a Senior Product Development Specialist. From a functional perspective, this role will have the primary responsibility of leading global formulation development efforts for antiperspirant sticks and deodorant sticks. Unilever is a highly matrixed organization that is heavily dependent on the personal networks of each and every employee. Working in a global team there is the added challenge of location. The successful candidate will have to build and foster relationships with global innovation team colleagues based in the UK; where some of the innovation team (for sticks) including the leadership resides. Unilever has quickly become a more open and outwardly looking organization. Gone are the days when we lead and conducted the much of the innovation ourselves. In our Connected 4 Growth culture, we have established partnerships with some of the most innovative organizations out there for the purpose developing product innovations together. The successful candidate will have experience in building relationships and liaising with external entities for the purpose of building capabilities and developing innovations.

You are constantly looking for consumer solutions:

• You have a passion for getting into the head of consumers around the globe and developing products that delight and fulfil their needs; sometimes this may mean filling in the blanks for what is not said.

You are curious and an innovator at heart:

• You have a burning desire to always be looking to create that new thing or process and are not constrained by function, area of expertise or experience.

You are a strategy guru:

• You must understand brand strategy and proposition and be able to develop a supporting technical strategy that helps our brands win in the marketplace.

You love to win and will do whatever it takes to achieve:

• Deodorants has been successful for many years largely because of strategy, people and mindset. The latter two factors come down to people that support each other and love to win and a mindset of making the impossible possible.

You possess a challenger mindset:

• You don’t accept things as they are. You don’t accept doing things a particular way simply because that it is always how it has been done. You ask why and are always looking for ways to make things better. Constant improvement.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• Graduate / Post Graduate science or engineering degree (any discipline) with 5+ years of personal care or homecare industry experience that includes delivery of innovation projects from concept through market execution.
• Formulation development experience is key to this role. Understanding fundamental chemistry principles and being able to leverage those insights to create consumer products that delight is a fundamental job expectation. Creation of new and novel formulations and understanding the processes required to manufacturer reproducible and high-quality products is a must.
• Ability to understand product performance criteria/action standards and translate into robust product formulations and testing plans to ensure desired outcome is delivered in a measurable way.
• Ability to translate desired claimable benefits into a robust design of experiments and testing plan.
• Strong team mindset and leadership capabilities. Experience in partnering both internally and externally across many functional interfaces. Ability to develop and manage relationships with external innovation partners.
• Ability to work independently and lead multi-site and multi-function innovation teams
• Strong desire and/or experience in connecting with consumers. Getting into their minds to understand what we as innovators can do to better their lives.
• Strong communication skills & proven ability to interact across a range of functions & leadership groups; excellent verbal/written communication skills with the ability to effectively interact with peers, key stakeholders and senior leaders.
• Ability to build networks in and outside of Unilever. Experience in product quality troubleshooting and root cause analysis
• Trained in the olfactive assessment of products is an added plus.
• Understanding of product development principles, R&D processes and protocols, Product specification and documentation along with strong data analysis skills.