(Senior) Product Developer (gn) R&D Care & Styling

At the earliest possible time | location: Darmstadt, Hessen | permanent

ABOUT WELLA

Wella Company is one of The World’s leading Beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands such as Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin and ghd. With 6,000 employees globally, presence in over 100 countries, Wella Company and its brands enable consumers to look, feel, and be their true selves. As innovators in the hair and nail industry, Wella Company empowers its people to delight consumers, inspire beauty professionals, engage communities, and deliver sustainable growth to its stakeholders. . For more information about the Wella Company, visit our website www.wellacompany.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

ABOUT R&D

Research & Development in Wella is a highly collaborative, competent and innovative group. You join diverse teams of highly passionate Scientists, Engineers and Hair & Nail Artists who innovate at the frorefront of technology and beauty trends. We:

• Deliver end-to-end innovation​ through an empowered learning culture, exploring, developing and qualifying innovations that delight consumers​.
• Innovate and bring to life the future of the Company, guided by focused consumer research and the trends that will grow our industry long term​.
• Drive safety, sustainability, quality and regulatory always front and center to our work​.

We want you to join the Wella R&D family on an exciting journey through exciting challenges and opportunities as we become an independent, winning Wella again!

THE ROLE

This R&D Product Developer position will be within the Wella R&D Care & Styling team, to support our European Wella Styling business.

A Product Developer translates stylists & consumer needs into technical benefits. By monitoring consumer & stylist behavior as well as the competitive landscape and trends you identify opportunities for winning innovation. Product & service prototyping and benefit demonstration and visualization are core work areas, complemented by thorough technical documentation for global execution.

In this role you will be closely working with all R&D functions to develop technical understanding and deliver solutions for the retail styling specific initiative needs. You will also represent the R&D position within multi-functional team meetings.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

ACCOUNTABILITY ASPECTS

• Consumer understanding & insights generation, with focus on hair styling 
• Product qualification
• Definition and documentation of robust claims substantiation strategy (in vitro and in vivo methods)
• Demo creation to illustrate product differences, building the reason to believe in the product efficacy
• Support the development of technical product stories and scientific communication
• Ensure the regulatory compliance of our existing Wella retail styling portfolio and adapt products where needed
• Support the registration, notifications, freedom to practice and other relevant clearances associated with product launches
• Represent R&D within multifunctional team meetings

PROBLEM SOLVING ASPECTS 

• You use data and generate insights that contribute to the development of winning propositions.
• You deliver reliable, accurate and reproducible data in an actionable and timely manner.

WHAT YOU CAN BRING

• Minimum Bachelor Degree from university in chemistry, chem-eng, cosmetic sciences, natural sciences, biology/biotech, etc. or related fields
• Ideally experience within Beauty or FMCG industry in designing and qualifying new technologies
• Curiosity and empathy to transfer consumer and stylist insights into new product ideas
• Desire to penetrate science deeply and support claims with robust science approaches
• Team player and “can do” attitude
• Creative thinking
• A bias towards Beauty and in touch with trends in the beauty and especially styling industry
• Communication and presentation skills for verbal and written communication (in English) of ideas, technical rationales, risks, issues and recommendation.
• Capable and willing to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Fluent in English & German

WHAT WE OFFER YOU

You would have the chance to be a part of a dynamic, competent and fun team and to run your projects, learn & grow on project management and influence the technologies and innovations we develop. Last but not least, you’ll have a chance to see your own products in the market – a proud moment for any product developer!

• Attractive salary package with a wide range of benefits
• Free company parking as well as central location and good public transport connections
• Promotion of personal potential and individual career paths
• Support during the induction period and the opportunity to take on responsibility at an early stage
• Flexible working hours and the opportunity to work from home
• A collegial working atmosphere at an employer with an appreciative corporate culture
• Open communication and an international as well as diverse environment in which the "WE" is in the foreground!

Become a part of the "WELLA- family" - we live our values! #wellafamily #WellaCareers

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

We offer equal employment opportunity to qualified individuals without regard to ethnical origin, religion, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Wella Company with disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.