Agricultural Staff Scientist - Ashland Inc

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we'd like to meet you and bet you'd like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Sr. Staff Scientist to join our Agrochemical business at our Bridgewater, NJ location. This is a significant role within the Company and the Crop Care R&D function. This position will report to the Crop Care R&D Group Leader

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Participate in R&D development and innovation efforts of the Ag Chem business, including the design and development of new products and the improvement of existing Crop Care products.
• Represent the Crop Care R&D group in cross-functional teams responsible for developing specialty products leveraging broader Ashland technologies that will fill gaps in the current portfolio and satisfy needs of the marketplace.
• Preparation of laboratory-scale liquid and solid formulations
• New formulation development and evaluation, including SL, EC, SC, WDG, and OD formulation types with Ashland products
• Act as a leader on stability, efficacy and trials associated with agrichemical formulations
• Plan and conduct experiments in the lab, making suggestions for improvement and troubleshooting
• Maintain laboratory productivity, identifying peak and slack periods and setting up priorities in conjunction with Crop Care R&D Manager.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending industry conventions, reviewing professional agrochemical publication, and establishing personal network
• Technical service supporting sales marketing and customer visits - perform application studies, create sales tools, answers customer queries via phone or email
• Participate and lead new product development and have active involvement in Crop Care R&D Innovation Projects
• Preparing technical presentations for internal and external customers at customer sites, scientific conferences, and trade shows
• Actively contribute to the organizational goals by taking initiative, executing on goals and focusing on performance and safety
• Improve the organization capacity and capabilities through building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent and utilizing positive communications and influence with others

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• Minimum MS Degree in Chemistry, Crop Sciences, Biology or related scientific/technical discipline
• 5-10 years experience in the agrichemical industry
• Agriculture formulation laboratory experience essential
• Experience with formulation equipment and general analytical equipment in developing Ag formulations with a knowledge of pesticide formulations and EPA/PMRA/REACH requirements preferred
• Strong and effective oral communication skills to be able to clearly present ideas, experiments, and results including presenting technical information, technical report writing, producing customer technical reports is desired
• Strong written skills and basic knowledge of scientific writing
• Must have a working knowledge of industry manufacturing techniques and capabilities and work with the manufacturing group to optimize the manufacturing process for new formulations
• Strong organization and planning skills and experience in planning daily work
• Track record of delivering quality results to meet tight timelines
• Experience working independently, i.e., to take a project from the idea stage to the scale-up step
• A good team player who can cooperate and collaborate with a diverse group by helping and sharing ideas and working together, assisting when others need help
• Demonstrated responsible and ethical behavior at all times
• The ability to help the company drive greater value through understanding the business, making complex decisions and creating the new and different
• Willing and able to travel domestically and international travel as required to support the organization (~10%)

The following skill sets are preferred by the business unit:

• PhD Degree in Chemistry, Crop Sciences, Biology or related scientific/technical discipline
• Agriculture adjuvant formulation laboratory experience essential
• Experience in planning, conducing and interpreting field trial data

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland LLC. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, personal care and pharmaceutical. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer.

At Ashland our vision is to be a leading, global specialty chemicals company whose inspired and engaged employees add value to all we touch. In fact our people, employees, customers and vendors define who we are. They are the driving force behind everything we do.

Not only do we value our customers but we value our employees, and we work to offer them a dynamic and challenging environment. We hold ourselves to high standards at Ashland, and we value integrity and honesty.

Ashland has a history of attracting the best people and keeping them. The reasons are simple: industry competitive salary and benefits, pay-for-performance incentive plans and a diverse work environment where employees feel challenged and valued. People come to Ashland and stay. As a growing Fortune 500 specialty chemicals company, we offer opportunities for development and advancement throughout our global organization. Our values define who we are and what we care about as a company. If you are looking for a relationship with a company instead of simply a job, this may be a great fit.

Ashland is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled/Gender Identity/Sexual Orientation.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. NOTE: We do not accept resumes from external staffing agencies or independent recruiters for any of our openings unless we have a signed recruiting agreement in place to fill a specific position.