Cosmetic Chemist

El Segundo, CA

Who we are.

We are a radical team of engineers, coders, technicians, creatives, and colorists coming together to craft a completely personalized hair color and hair care experience—all while empowering folks to be experts at home.

eSalon is looking for a full-time Cosmetic Chemist with experience formulating hair care and a willingness to learn hair color to join our expanding team. This is an individual contributor role, reporting into our VP, R&D. This is a great position for an individual looking to have a strong impact on a company’s main product offering.

Responsibilities

Formulate, research, test, stabilize, troubleshoot, validate specifications, and perform other R&I activities related to the hair care industry.
Successfully prepare hair care and hair color products.
Develop batches from scratch; and improve upon and scale up existing batches.
Review current hair dye and hair care formulations and optimize for better performance and optimal ingredients.
Optimize manufacturing processes of hair dye and hair care on the local pilot manufacturing line.
Analyze all changes to existing formulas to determine proper testing, stability effects, and in some cases, reverse engineer.
Perform root cause analysis on non-conforming products.
Assist manufacturing with adjustments/troubleshooting relative to formulation batching/mixing.
Follow projects from formulation development through manufacturing, including helping to establish manufacturing procedures.
Ensure color fastness, accurate color reproduction, stability, and durability of products.
Contribute in establishing manufacturing procedures.
Liaise with colorists, marketing, chemical suppliers, and production staff to solve problems, and provide technical feedback when necessary.
Coordinate with contract manufacturers to ensure duplication of lab and local results into large scale manufacturing.
Work with product development groups to identify new ingredients available on the cosmetic market and integrate them in hair care formulations where needed.
Keep up to date with regulatory restrictions related to cosmetic products (state, federal, and international).
Work with current team on improving equipment and capabilities of the experimental lab on site and the quality control procedures performed in it.
Assist in resolving product or process problems.
Stay current on developments in the cosmetic field and continue to demonstrate performance improvement.
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum of 5+ years of experience in development and manufacturing hair care products.
B.S. degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Material Science or equivalent.
Technical knowledge of chemistry, polymers, colorants, emulsions, surfactants, and other raw materials used in the cosmetic industry.
Knowledge of rules and regulations (FDA, EMA, CTFA, PCPC) for formulation and current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).
Exposure to formulating liquid hair dye lines and color matching abilities preferred but not required
Effective communicator with the ability to clearly convey technical concepts to technical and non-technical constituents.
Detail oriented and highly organized.
Strong project management skills with demonstrated ability and desire to take ownership.
Understanding of consumer insights related to product development, and experience in assessing and developing intellectual property are a plus.
Good problem solving and decision-making skills. Display a sense of urgency and initiative with creativity and flexibility.
Excel in a fast-paced environment; demonstrated aptitude for navigating ambiguity.

Benefits

Highly competitive compensation packages
Medical, dental, vision and life insurance plans
401K Plan
15 days of Paid Time Off + 10 paid company holidays
Monthly catered lunches
Stocked kitchen
Employee Assistance Program

Rideshare program
Casual work environment
Corporate Discount Program
Complimentary salon services
Authentic work / life balance. 40 hour work week
Beverage Cart Fridays

eSalon is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

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