Product Development & R&D Lab Lead

Product Development & R&D Lab Lead About the Role

An innovative advanced materials manufacturing company is seeking a hands on Product Development & R&D Lab Lead to develop, improve, test, and industrialise products, materials, samples, and processes that strengthen market offerings and meet evolving customer requirements.

The successful candidate will lead development projects from customer requirement analysis through concept development, prototyping, testing, production trials, technical evaluation, and manufacturing implementation.

This is a development-focused role with a strong emphasis on practical problem solving, rapid prototyping, application testing, material qualification, process support, and the delivery of commercially viable solutions.

The role also includes responsibility for managing a development laboratory and supervising an R&D Technician, ensuring all development and testing activities are conducted safely, efficiently, and in line with business priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead product, material, sample, and process development projects from concept through prototyping, testing, qualification, trials and implementation.
• Manage the development laboratory, including equipment, testing capability, organisation, safety standards, consumables and documentation.
• Line manage and mentor an R&D Technician, including workload planning, task allocation and technical coaching.
• Carry out and oversee hands on prototyping, sample development, colour matching and proof of concept testing.
• Plan and execute development and production trials, including data collection, analysis, reporting and follow up actions.
• Support raw material qualification, supplier evaluation and external testing activities.
• Collaborate with commercial, operations, quality, supplier and customer stakeholders to translate technical requirements into practical solutions.
• Maintain technical records, test reports, development documentation and supporting information for project reviews and innovation funding initiatives.
• Develop and validate testing protocols to evaluate product performance and application suitability.
• Conduct technical reviews of materials, technologies, testing methods, processing options and market applications to support development decisions.
• Support process improvement initiatives and the scale up of laboratory developments into manufacturing environments.
• Present technical findings and recommendations through reports, presentations and project documentation.
• Monitor developments in materials, processing technologies, testing methodologies and market trends.
• Promote a collaborative, practical and professional working culture.

Key Areas of Responsibility Technical Leadership & Project Management

• Lead new product and technology development projects.
• Coordinate experimental work, technical investigations and project documentation.
• Drive projects through to successful implementation.

Commercial & Business Support

• Provide technical support for customer opportunities and business development initiatives.
• Assist with customer enquiries, rapid prototyping and external collaborations.

Operational Support

• Support process improvement activities.
• Assist with new material qualification and implementation.
• Contribute to quality investigation and resolution activities.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be a technically strong, self motivated individual who enjoys taking ownership of projects from concept through to completion.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree plus 4+ years' relevant industry experience; or
• Master's Degree plus 2+ years' relevant industry experience; or
• PhD in a relevant discipline.

Relevant disciplines include:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Plastics Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Other related technical fields

Essential Skills & Experience

• Demonstrated experience delivering technical development projects.
• Experience in experimental design, testing and data analysis.
• Strong project management and organisational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast paced environment.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation communication skills.
• Experience interpreting technical data and drawing meaningful conclusions.
• Strong problem solving ability and results driven mindset.
• Ability to quickly understand and apply new technologies and concepts.
• Knowledge of health, safety and environmental standards.
• Strong collaboration and stakeholder management skills.
• High level of professionalism, flexibility and attention to detail.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

What's on Offer

• Opportunity to lead innovative product development projects.
• Hands on role with real impact across product development and manufacturing.
• Technical leadership responsibilities with direct team management.
• Exposure to customers, suppliers and cross functional stakeholders.
• Chance to influence future product and process innovation within a growing manufacturing business.