Entry Level Lab Jobs in Wisconsin (NOW HIRING)

𝗔 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆-𝗼𝗹𝗱, 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆-𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝟵-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗥&𝗗 𝗹𝗮𝗯. 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲.

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗬

Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of Sheboygan Paint Company, a family-owned industrial coatings manufacturer that has been in business for over 100 years. With roughly 115 employees across labs in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Cedartown, Georgia, the company ranks among the top 25 US paint companies by size, yet the culture still feels like a family business. There's a record player in the lab, group bowling nights, and leadership (including the CEO) that walks the halls and is genuinely accessible.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲

• Curious self-starters who ask questions and want to understand why something works, not just follow steps

• Comfortable working hands-on in an industrial laboratory, including standard safety procedures and personal protective equipment

• People who want breadth early on: testing, formulation modification, and eventually customer and cross-functional exposure

• Motivated to learn new chemistries and instrumentation without needing much hand-holding

If you want a role where every task is handed to you and mapped out in advance, or you'd rather specialize narrowly on day one, this probably isn't your fit.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬

You'll join a nine-person research and development lab in Sheboygan, reporting to senior chemists and the VP of Technology and Research Operations, a 25-year coatings veteran who came up through Dow Chemical, Valspar, and Sherwin-Williams. Sheboygan is being built into the company's center of excellence for all R&D, and this lab covers a wide range of chemistries: epoxies, solvent-based and water-based polyurethanes, water-reducible and traditional alkyds, acrylics, and UV and electron beam systems. They even manufacture their own catalysts in-house.

There are no QA responsibilities in this role. You'll be mentored on real formulation and testing projects starting in your first weeks, not sidelined into pure quality control.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢

• Conduct performance and property testing on paint formulations (viscosity, gloss, cure, adhesion, weathering)

• Modify existing formulations under senior chemist direction: raw material substitutions, gloss adjustments, viscosity reductions

• Build and test paint batches across epoxy, polyurethane, alkyd, acrylic, and UV/electron beam chemistries

• Learn to operate and interpret results from lab instruments such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), a rheometer, tensiometer, goniometer, weatherometer, and color spectrophotometer

• Document experiments clearly and write up organized results

• Take part in customer calls, plant visits, and cross-functional meetings as you grow into the role

𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱:

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field (chemistry, chemical engineering, biology, geology, materials science, or related)

• Self-motivated, you don't wait to be told what to do next

• Strong written and verbal communication

• Comfortable working in an industrial laboratory environment, including standard safety procedures

𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:

• Coursework or internship experience in coatings, polymers, or formulation chemistry

• Hands-on exposure to FTIR, a rheometer, or a color spectrophotometer

• Interest in color science or color theory

• Experience with statistical software (JMP, Minitab, or MATLAB)

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦

𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆: $60,000 to $75,000 per year

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲: Flexible standard hours (options like 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM or 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM), on-site with some work-from-home flexibility once ramped up

𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀: Medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) with company match

𝗣𝗧𝗢: Generous PTO and company-observed holidays

𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Company-funded external training, including Datacolor courses, BIC industry seminars, and local leadership programs

Interested? Apply via LinkedIn and we'll be in touch.

𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 | 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱