Polymer Science Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

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The Tyvek business within DuPont Healthcare & Water Technologies is a global leader in advanced materials serving healthcare packaging, personal protective equipment, and a broad range of consumer and industrial applications. Through the Tyvek brand, we help improve safety, protect critical products such as medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and drive innovation and sustainability worldwide.

Within Tyvek R&D, we develop new products, advance manufacturing and process capabilities, and create new technology platforms-leveraging strong scientific and engineering fundamentals within DuPont's global technology community.

Position Overview

As part of the Tyvek R&D growth strategy, we are seeking a Senior Scientist / Engineer - Product Development to join our team in Richmond, Virginia. This seniorlevel role combines handson technical execution with strategic product leadership, delivering both nearterm results and longterm business impact.

The role is critical to translating manufacturing process capabilities into differentiated product features that meet evolving market needs. The successful candidate will build mechanistic understanding of product characteristics and their relationship to flashspun nonwoven processes, contributing across the full product development lifecycle from concept through market introduction.

You will join a collaborative, global R&D organization with expertise spanning materials science, polymer science and engineering, chemistry, physics, and engineering disciplines, united by a mission to develop advanced nonwoven membrane solutions that protect people, property, and critical products.

Key Responsibilities

• Define, lead, and execute R&D programs aimed at improving the technical value proposition of Tyvek nonwoven products
• Serve as the product technology focal point, partnering with Marketing Managers, Product Managers, and Application Technology Leaders to develop market participation strategies across existing and new product families
• Design and execute experiments related to flashspinning technologies, including new polymers, polymer blends, additives, and polymer solutions
• Formulate optimized ingredients and process conditions to support new product development
• Identify, assess, and develop new or enhanced laboratory and pilotscale capabilities
• Apply fundamental scientific and engineering principles to drive informed product development decisions
• Develop methods to monitor product performance across multiple processing steps
• Build mechanistic understanding of product structure, properties, and performance
• Communicate technical findings through clear written reports and oral presentations
• Actively create and manage intellectual property, ensuring IP is protected and leveraged appropriately for target markets
• Monitor the regulatory and competitive landscape and develop strategic technical responses to changing requirements
• Collaborate effectively with global, crossfunctional teams spanning technical and nontechnical disciplines
• Partner with manufacturing, engineering, and commercialization teams to scale new processes and products to full commercial production
• Build and sustain collaborations with internal and external partners, vendors, customers, and research institutions
• Serve as a technical mentor and trainer, developing applied and fundamental product development expertise across the organization, particularly for earlycareer team members

Additional Information

• This role may require up to 25% travel, depending on project needs.

Qualifications

• PhD or MSc in Chemistry, Polymer Science and Engineering, Materials Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related disciplines
• Previous professional experience, preferably 5+ years in a combination of roles in manufacturing, R&D and/or market-facing (consultant, technical sales, quality or regulatory) roles.
• Knowledge in four or more of the following areas: product development, process and/or product scale-up, polymer processing, chemistry, and/or physics thermodynamics, intellectual property development, quality assurance, standards development / regulatory compliance, project management.
• Consultancy experience with customers and/or clients (external preferred or internal).
• Knowledge of nonwovens manufacturing and their product performance is a plus.
• Nonwoven and/or membrane (selective barrier) product application or marketplace experience is a plus.
• Language: English (required), German (preferred)

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