Research And Development Manager

At Corbion, we exist to champion preservation in all its forms, preserving food and food production, health, and our planet.

We are seeking a proactive Laboratory and Analytical Services Manager to manager our in-house analytical laboratory. You will play a key role in supporting the research, development and applications activities, Corbion’s milling enrichment business, as well as our sales team, procurement, operations, and business development needs.

The Laboratory and Analytical Services Manager is based in the Lenexa North American corporate office and reports directly to the Sr Director of RD&A. In this position you will lead the Analytical Services Team NAM which gives support to the Corbion’s milling enrichment business, as well as manage the laboratory and analytical needs throughout our internal research, development and applications department. You will coordinate, prioritize and deliver support for Sales, R&D Applications, and innovation projects, working with internal and external customers by providing analytical expertise, testing and results. You will be the key representative of Corbion NAM Analytical Services group to external customers.

The ideal candidate will be an analytical chemist with experiences relevant to chemical analysis, with preferred experience in analysis of food ingredients, and history of laboratory management.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Manage team of scientists and technicians to guarantee the completion of tests and validation of results for both internal and external clients with accuracy and efficiency
• Lead in-house laboratory activities including but not limited to testing and analysis of vitamin fortification levels, moisture, ash, iron, organic acids, chloride, acidity titrations, particle size, fat
• Ensure that all laboratory activities comply with Health Safety Environmental policies and company regulations; as well as all standard operating procedures
• Develop, implement, assess, maintain and ensure compliance of GLP, SOP, and laboratory quality assurance programs
• Set up, implement, maintain and enhance the in-house laboratories for physical and chemical food, food ingredient and food chemical analysis
• Provide direction and resourcing for the implementation and development of new analytical methodologies required of the business as applied to materials and food matrices
• Actively builds open and collaborative teamwork between all analytical groups (Lenexa R&D, Totowa QC, Netherlands R&D SFS/QC, and 3rd parties)
• Allocates analytical resources in line with business priorities
• Flag priority clashes on time for decision within leadership team
• Safeguard quality and efficiency of the analytical team
• Secure data reporting and management of application knowledge, and provides written reports for use by SFS teams, Sales, Sales Technical support, and customers

Personnel Management:

• Cultivate a team atmosphere with peer groups and upper management
• Manage, motivate and develop laboratory staff
• Work collaboratively across research and application department to assess and prioritize needs of the broader RDA team
• Communicate with clients regularly to understand needs, as well as answer questions and provide information on testing methods and results
• Maintain laboratory testing schedule and prioritizing daily work
• Oversee all people management for the designated team, including hours’ management, hiring, personnel development, performance evaluation and training
• Liaison to 3rd party external laboratories, Universities, Research Institutes, and consultants

Lab maintenance/management:

• Develop and oversee execution of SOPs within Analytical Services
• Ensure safety of personnel and/or visitors in the lab, maintains all safety systems, in collaboration with Corbion EHS, needed to meet all national and local requirements
• Manage the chemical and consumable stock for the laboratories
• Manage the laboratory equipment (internal calibration/ verification, lab equipment repair/maintenance services)
• Maintain laboratory testing schedule and prioritization of daily work within the analytical team and ensure quality, accuracy and efficiency in all processes

Project leader or member of application/innovation projects:

• Contribute to ideation, reviewing and identifying new projects, developing and executing technical plans, collecting and analyzing data, communicating results and project status, generating reports, and making presentations
• Participate effectively on cross functional project teams, which may include colleagues from RDA, Sales, Technical Services, Business, Marketing, Operations, etc. as the needs of the projects dictate

Qualifications:

• Broadly trained analytical chemist with experiences relevant to chemical analysis of food ingredients
• Relevant (e.g., Chemistry, Biochemistry, Food Science, etc.) Bachelor of Science with 5-10 years of experience or Master of Science with 2-7 years
• Strong understanding of laboratory analytical techniques and equipment with preferred experience in the principles of food science and food ingredient functionalities
• Experience leading a team of analytical scientist or technicians, with proven track record of laboratory activities management
• People skills related to leading a team, working with peers, and upper management. Open and easy communicator
• Internal customer focus, drive for results, and can-do mentality. Works with high motivation and passion to deliver results
• Self-management and team management, handling multiple tasks and requests
• Team-player: Builds on expertise of others, and is able to connect the dots to drive for optimal results for Corbion
• Effectively manage change and ambiguity
• Problem solving skills
• External network: Able to build and maintain a professional network including external labs, consultants, Universities, and/or Research Institutes

About Corbion

Corbion is the global market leader in lactic acid and its derivatives, and a leading supplier of emulsifiers, functional enzyme blends, minerals, vitamins, and algae ingredients. We use our unique expertise in fermentation and other processes to deliver sustainable solutions for the preservation of food and food production, health, and our planet. For over 100 years, we have been uncompromising in our commitment to safety, quality, innovation and performance. Drawing on our deep application and product knowledge, we work side-by-side with customers to make our cutting-edge technologies work for them. Our solutions help differentiate products in markets such as food, home & personal care, animal nutrition, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and bioplastics. In 2023, Corbion generated annual sales of €1,443.8 million and had a workforce of 2,727 FTE. Corbion is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. For more information: www.corbion.com

Corbion is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse workplace. All applicants will be considered equally without regard to race, color, ethnicity, veteran status, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, age, sex, sexual orientation, handicapping condition, membership in an organization or any other non-merit factors.

Corbion provides reasonable accommodation to applicants.

EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled

Corbion does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers. All candidates must be submitted by approved Corbion vendors who have been expressly requested to make a submission by our Talent Acquisition team for a specific job opening. No placement fees will be paid to any firm unless such a request has been made by the Corbion Talent Acquisition team and such candidate was submitted to the Corbion Talent Acquisition Team.