Paint Development Chemist

SUMMARY:

Job Title: Paint Development Chemist
Location: East Rand Gauteng
Industry: Paint & Coatings manufacturing 
Type: Permanent  / Environment: Combination of laboratory, factory floor and office environments

About the Role
The Paint Development Chemist owns the laboratory-to-production journey of the Company’s products: developing new formulations, improving and cost-optimising existing ones, evaluating raw materials and suppliers, and providing technical support to production and quality

POSITION INFO:
What you'll be doing Develop new Specialized Coating Systems formulations using sound coatings chemistry: selecting suitable binders, pigments, solvents and additives based on the required performance profile, and calculating ratios using density, non-volatile content (NVC), pigment-volume concentration (PVC) and mass-to-volume relationships. Run structured bench trials and side-by-side variant comparisons with fully documented test data. Conduct scale-up trials from lab batch to pilot to full production, ensuring batch-to-batch reproducibility through accurate scaling calculations and documented procedures. Support the development of new product ranges in collaboration with Marketing and Sales, including Technical Data Sheet (TDS) verification. Refine and optimise existing formulations for cost, performance, regulatory compliance and supply continuity. Evaluate and qualify alternative raw materials within Company specifications Liaise directly with raw material suppliers on technical queries, samples, alternatives and pricing-driven substitutions Diagnose and resolve production batch issues (viscosity, colour, stability, settling, application defects). Investigate customer complaints, perform root-cause analysis and drive corrective and preventive actions (CAPA). Oversee QC testing of production batches against specification; sign off batches and authorise release to dispatch. Maintain and improve product specifications, test methods and retained-sample programmes. Maintain accurate records of formulations, batch results, test data and complaint investigations. Produce weekly performance and quality reports for the R&D & QC Manager. What you'll need BSc \/ BTech \/ National Diploma in Chemistry, Polymer Science or a related field, and\/or SAPMA Modules 1-4 (Basic Technology, Paint Application, Solvents & Media, Pigments & Dispersions) or equivalent. 2-10 years' hands-on formulation experience in a paint or coatings manufacturing environment. Working knowledge of both solvent-based and water-based coating systems (alkyds, acrylics, epoxies, polyurethanes and related chemistries). Competent with standard paint laboratory equipment and test methods (viscosity, SG, NVC, fineness of grind, opacity, gloss, adhesion, drying times, accelerated stability). Familiarity with SANS \/ ISO coating standards and specification-based testing. Valid Code 8 driver's licence and own transport. Microsoft Excel proficiency - confident use of Excel for formulation logs, raw material costing sheets, batch records, QC data capture, basic formulas (SUM, AVERAGE, IF, VLOOKUP \/ XLOOKUP), tables, charts and pivot reporting. Applied chemistry and mathematics - fluent in calculating densities, mass-to-volume and volume-to-mass conversions, percentage additions, dilutions, pigment-volume concentration (PVC), non-volatile content (NVC) and accurate scale-up arithmetic from lab batch to full production batch without error. Independent formulation capability - ability to design, adjust and troubleshoot formulations using sound chemistry, under production pressure and without external assistance. What is in it for you? Market related Cash Component remuneration Annual Incentives\/Bonusses based on KPI performance A Few Things to Know Working conditions: Combination of laboratory, factory floor and office environments Regular handling of solvents, resins, pigments and reactive chemistries; full PPE compliance is mandatory. Standard hours Monday to Friday, 07:30-16:30. Overtime, evenings and occasional weekend work are expected where production schedules, batch deadlines or technical emergencies require, and are included in the cost-to-company package. Occasional travel to customer sites or supplier facilities within Gauteng. Ready to Apply? Click Apply and please complete your application in full. If you don't hear from us within 3 months, your application was not successful. However, we may contact you for other roles in the future (with your permission). Data Privacy Notice By applying, you consent to Elchemie processing your personal data for the purpose of job matching. Your data will be securely stored and shared only with trusted service providers and clients.