Senior Scientist

#MaesaMagic   

Maesa is the world's largest independent beauty incubator, housing numerous, fast growing "it" brands within all categories of beauty. We are a high growth global company in the middle of the transition from founder lead to private equity owned. With an incubation flywheel ideating on new global brand launches, Maesa pushes creative and technical boundaries to deliver exceptional performance and establish global staying power. Maesa has a keen focus on marketing and white space analysis, which guides its thinking on marketing existing brands as well as development of new brands through its extremely unique structure. We are vertically integrated globally with in-house marketing, branding, product development/formulation, packaging design/engineering and regulatory. With a focus on modernity and sustainability, we design innovative solutions and make proactive choices to achieve environmental neutrality and consumer wellness. Maesa has mastered "commercializing creativity," making itself a leader in the fundamental revolutionary change in the beauty industry. Headquartered in New York, with additional offices in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Dongguan, Maesa employs about 400 team members worldwide. 

The main responsibility of the R&D Senior Scientist is to lead the technical development of new formulas across several categories, with a focus on multiple brands in hair care, skincare & body care. These products include multiple types of formulations in brands ranging from mass to prestige, including natural formulations. Partnering with Marketing, the R&D Senior Scientist is part of the development process of the products from conception to launch. Starting with the briefs for each new innovation, R&D collaborates with the contract manufacturer or develops and writes internal IP formulas to ensure the quality of the products meets or exceeds industry standards. This role will oversee the technical development, validation, scale-up, and commercialization of all new product SKUs. The candidate should have an extensive understanding of formula development and formulation, practical and extensive bench formulation experience as well as awareness of rapid timelines, operations and manufacturing. The person will need to provide technical guidance and troubleshooting for batch and fill processes, both during lab development and production scale-up.

This role is based in NYC and you will be expected in office 3 days a week, at minimum. Ideal candidate must be willing to travel 20% of time.

Responsibilities 

• Lead formula development while considering budgets and timing


• Partner with Marketing to write the Product Development Brief, evaluate benchmark and desired performance claims


• Write and develop innovative formulas in-house in accordance with business goals and objectives


• Actively formulate to anticipate and avoid potential scale-up challenges when establishing batch instructions and specification ranges


• Generate new product ideas and concepts in accordance with business goals & objectives.


• Expert in different formulation systems like 0/W, W/Si, W/o, Hot pours, surfactant systems, SPF, OTC


• Understands test methods of physical characteristics and interprets relevant test data to improve process design


• Meet with suppliers to discuss costing and pricing of formulas


• Primary contact with labs to initiate new brief


• Directly own formula development timeline: Initiate request, track submission, evaluate samples, redirect labs when needed


• Partner with regulatory to ensure formula compliance


• Directly own and track stability testing


• Oversee pilot batches to ensure proper scale-up of all products, proactively addressing necessary changes in compounding to minimize variations from lab batches


• Take the lead on any reformulation needs/troubleshoot issues


• Provide technical support to product development from an overall branding perspective


• Keep abreast of the latest manufacturing capabilities and material innovations, technology-driven raw materials and ingredients


• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment; must be self-motivated and self-directed


• Strong organizational and communication skills, and the ability to work with a high degree of autonomy


• Strength in timeline management, managing multiple projects simultaneously


• Generate pricing breakdowns for all formulas, ensuring that the cost of the final formula is within the client’s budget


• Build innovation decks to present new textures, concepts, and ingredients to our I&I Team


• Help create and maintain established SOPs, cGMP regulations, and batch record instructions


• Comply with all Company Policies and procedures, including safety rules and regulations


•  Maintains a Safe work environment and operates in a safe manner.

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree – Chemistry, Engineering or related field of study


• Must be willing to travel 20% of time


• Effective planning & organizing skills; ability to handle multiple duties/ tasks


• At least 2-3 years’ experience in Contract Manufacturer environment and fast-paced environment


• Experience in leadership roles and mentoring junior chemists


• Ability to work independently and in a team environment


• Ability to adapt effectively to workplace changes and new job duties/responsibilities


• Ability to maintain a positive, Professional, cooperative demeanor, conduct, and working relationship with peers, management, employees, and other individuals that interact with this position.


• 5-8 years of beauty industry/personal care, including formulation and scale-up, required


• Strong communication skills and adept negotiating/influencing competencies

What We Offer

$100,000/yr - $120,000/yr. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location. This position is eligible for participation in a discretionary bonus plan based on individual and company performance.  

Maesa offers a variety of benefits to eligible employees. Employees can choose to enroll in health insurance coverage, wellness programs, life and disability insurance, and retirement savings plans. Through generous paid time off, a hybrid office setup, and paid leave options, Maesa encourages wellness and balance among employees.

Our Commitment to You

At Maesa, we live by our values of collaboration, curiosity, game-changing, creativity, and discipline.  We believe our people and partners are a creative force that catalyzes the possibilities in beauty to break through traditional limits and discover the “new” without restriction. We prioritize creating and fostering a welcoming environment for employees, partners, ideas, approaches, and endeavors — all through a spirit of warmth and inclusivity. As set forth in Maesa’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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