Sr. Scientist

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOG), was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.  Apogee is a growing, profitable company with annual revenues approaching $1.5 billion.  We provide distinctive metal and glass solutions for enclosing commercial buildings, and glass and acrylic solutions for picture framing and display applications. To learn more visit: www.apog.com.

The Apogee Performance Surfaces segment has grown from $100M to $200M in revenue through a recent acquisition.  Our brands in the Performance Surfaces portfolio develop and manufacture high-performance coated materials for a variety of applications, including wall décor, museums, graphic design, architectural interiors, digital display, and industrial flooring markets.  We are the global leader in anti-reflective, conservation grade electrostatic dissipative, high-definition, and abrasion resistance coatings, that provide protection, innovative designs, and exceptional durability.

Position Summary

The Senior Scientist – Radiation Curable Coatings is a technical leader within the R&D organization, responsible for the design, formulation, and commercialization of UV/EB-curable coatings through a deep understanding of structure–property–performance relationships, coating–substrate interactions, application-method-driven formulation requirements, and gloss control mechanisms. This role combines hands-on formulation chemistry with project leadership, technical mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration to advance the company’s innovation pipeline and core technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and formulation of UV/EB-curable coatings (acrylate, methacrylate, epoxy, cationic, hybrid systems).
• Apply deep understanding of structure–property relationships to optimize adhesion, hardness, flexibility, chemical resistance, weatherability, optical properties, cure response, and gloss level.
• Design coatings for and troubleshoot adhesion to wood, glass, acrylic, vinyl, aluminum, and steel.
• Develop and optimize low-gloss and matte coatings using controlled incompatibility, surface topology control, matting agents, phase separation, and cure kinetics.
• Formulate coatings compatible with roll coating, spray, curtain coating, vacuum coating, and flow/slot-die coating.
• Establish relationships between molecular structure, formulation, processing conditions, substrate characteristics, and surface morphology.
• Troubleshoot formulation, application, gloss, adhesion, and scale-up challenges.
• Define technical objectives, experimental plans, and success criteria aligned with business and application needs.
• Communicate progress, risks, and tradeoffs to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ensure formulations are robust, scalable, and deliver consistent appearance and performance.
• Mentor junior and mid-level chemists in formulation strategy, gloss control, and application-aware formulation.
• Promote best practices in experimental design, data quality, and documentation.
• Collaborate with application engineering, manufacturing, quality, sales, and customers.

Personal Attributes and Experience

• PhD in Chemistry, Polymer Science, Materials Science.
• 5–10+ years of industrial experience in UV/EB-curable coatings including free-radical, EB, cationic, or dual-cure systems.
• Demonstrated expertise in structure–property–performance relationships.
• Proven experience with low-gloss or matte coatings.
• Experience with multiple substrates and coating application methods.
• Track record of leading technical projects to commercialization.
• Familiarity with rheology, FTIR cure monitoring, DMA, surface roughness, and gloss measurement.
• Prior experience mentoring or leading chemists and technicians.

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Work Environment

This job is primarily performed in an office environment. The noise level in the office is generally moderate.

Apogee and our brands are an Equal Opportunity Employer.