Product Developer R&D (gn) - 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 

As part of our Wella R&D organization in Darmstadt, Germany, you will support the global Wella businesses hands-on in our Care and Styling Formulation team. Care and styling products have been driving the growth of Wella in the past years and formulation plays a central role to keep the innovation pace. We have an exciting opportunity for a talented and motivated Product Developer to join the care & styling formulation team. In this role, you will own the formulation work for care & styling technical and innovation initiatives x-brand for both professional and retail hair, developing holistic care & styling platform innovations and partner with the technical multifunctional teams on the respective product qualification efforts.

YOUR WORK WILL INCLUDE 

• Design and execution of care & styling formulation experiments including development of learning plans to validate formulation pathways.
• Initiates product tests in global test salons and external cosmetic studies to qualify new products.
• Co-develops technical success criteria for formulation tasks based on design brief and product insights.
• Partner with the various functions, especially Product Development/Technical Brand Management, Process Development and Packaging Development, to ensure smooth upscaling and commercialization of new care & styling products.
• Documents formulation/lab work in respective IT systems and creates formula cards in SAP RD. Manages multiple priorities effectively and maintains high quality data and technical standards.
• Internally and externally focused. Constantly seeking out and intently listening to consumers, customers, suppliers and external experts with knowledge and experience which can positively impact our business.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING 

• Leadership and personal ownership for the work to be able to proactively influence the direction of projects and propose alternative approaches.
• Building and maintaining diverse, collaborative working relationships is a critical requirement since the position requires high quality and trust-based interaction with different sites as well as different functions and is spanning people with different backgrounds, expertise and working cultures.
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment with a strong sense of urgency to create and innovate in a very complex category. Requires creative thinking skill and a keen interest in beauty.
• Attention to details and ability to work independently all while responding to changing priorities and feedback.
• Strong communication skills with very good command of the English language.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Education:  Scientific/chemical engineering background. Academic degree (Master or Bachelor with relevant experience) or laboratory technician apprenticeship and multi-year experience in laboratory work.

Experience:

• Experience in design, execution and documentation of formulation of shampoo/conditioner/styling or other cosmetic products is preferred.
• Proven record of planning and executing technical work with rigor and discipline.

IT Skills

• MS Office, plus experience with SAP RD or similar R&D management system & formula repository.
• Experience in use of computer systems to run laboratory measurement equipment, e.g. rheometers.
• Programming skills, understanding of AI principles, and the ability to use AI tools for specific tasks is a plus.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AT WELLA 

• A diverse and dynamic team; passionate about Care and Styling 
• 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.

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