R&D- Sr. Group Leader

Job Description

The Senior Group Leader manages a team of colorists, technicians, and contractors responsible for supporting coating applications—including color matching for new Sales opportunities, development of new colors for current and new customers, supporting Sales with panel and sample requests, color quality improvements, and testing of final products —in Sherwin-Williams’s North America General Industrial Business. This position is part of the Global General Industrial R\&D technology leadership group and works closely with the North America Leadership Team throughout the US and Canada.

Job duties include contact with other employees and access confidential and proprietary information and/or other items of value, and such access may be supervised or unsupervised. The Company therefore has determined that a review of criminal history is necessary to protect the business and its operations and reputation and is necessary to protect the safety of the Company’s staff, employees, and business relationships.

Responsibilities

• Leading, developing and managing a team of 8 -12 colorists, technicians, contractors, and admin with color matching and formulation expertise in powder coatings.
• Partnering with Marketing, Sales, and Manufacturing (production, maintenance, QA/QC) teams to identify customer needs that are critical for customer success.
• Working with Sales, Marketing, and R\&D leadership to prioritize projects and allocate resources to drive new colors to market for New Product Sales and Maintenance of Business projects.
• Utilizing, coaching, and reinforcing formulation, process, pigment/color characterization, continuous improvement, and quality improvement tools during color-matching and powder process activities
• Leadership
• Align departmental activities to deliver on new business goals for the Company.
• Support the transfer of color and powder coating formulation knowledge and information throughout General Industrial and Sherwin-Williams.
• Identify opportunities and build strategic internal and external relationships.
• Hire, onboard, and develop team members and use a flexible style, along with an open environment, to build a cohesive, accountable, and productive team.
• Coordinate individual and group efforts across functional boundaries and function as a technical liaison.
• Able to influence cross-functional teams in Manufacturing, Sales, Quality, and R\&D in order to move projects and products forward.
• Able to use personal influence and credibility to gain acceptance of ideas and plans from direct team and cross-functional teams.
• Business Management
• Effectively manage time and resources to ensure that work is completed efficiently, with sufficient quality, and on time.
• Set and meet project deadlines through effective planning and execution.
• Prioritize projects and resources, assess and communicate progress relative to goals.
• Must be able to manage and monitor multiple projects and programs.
• Identify and understand project issues. Determine and implement best alternative course of action.
• Support and lead continuous improvement activities.
• Communicate conflicts on priorities and escalate to drive action.
• Build cases to leadership for team resources (headcount and equipment) when business demand exceeds team capacity
• Employee and Team Development
• Facilitate the professional and technical growth of Team Members and Leaders.
• Supervise, shift, and optimize manpower resources and allocation based on business needs.
• Facilitate open sharing of knowledge and ideas to promote employee engagement.
• Drive high performance by conducting formal performance reviews and address performance concerns.
• Create a culture of diversity and inclusion and a positive cooperative work environment
• Communication
• Written and verbal communication of team and project related info to key stakeholders and Senior Management.
• Communicate/interface and influence other departments and divisions.
• Effective communication of projects, goals, and deliverables to Team.
• Communicate proactively to sales and marketing to drive collaboration and prioritization
• Safety and Quality
• Ensure and reinforce Safety, Housekeeping, and ISO practices.
• Actively seek to improve overall safety through proper training and implementation of corrective actions as necessary.
• Identify and address quality issues through the implementation of product and/or process improvements.

Qualifications

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Must be legally authorized to work in the country of employment without needing sponsorship for employment work visa status now or in the future (e.g., OPT, CPT, H1B, EB-1,etc.)
• Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Math field.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Minimum 5 years of coatings formulation and performance testing.
• Minimum of 3 years of project leadership/management experience with teams of 5-10 people.
• Strong industrial market knowledge, customer experience, and demonstrated relationships with R\&D, Sales, Marketing, and Manufacturing, groups.
• Knowledge of related regional markets, product stewardship, safety, and regulatory requirements.
• English Speaking, strong communication skills, both orally and written.
• Technical understanding and knowledge in industrial coatings formulation and color matching.
• Coatings application methods and evaluations
• Coatings formulation skills
• General computer skills – word, excel, PowerPoint, emails

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or higher degree
• At least 3 years in a supervisory/management role of 5-10 people.
• 5-7 years’ experience in powder coatings formulation, color formulation, color matching, and manufacturing of powder coatings.
• Powder coatings formulation and color matching.
• Lean Six Sigma, quality, Design for Six Sigma skills
• Color Software – Datacolor or X-Rite Color iMatch

Travel Requirements: 10% Domestic

This position is not eligible for sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, including conversion to H-1B visa.

About Us

At Sherwin-Williams, our purpose is to inspire and improve the world by coloring and protecting what matters. Our paints, coatings and innovative solutions make the places and spaces in our world brighter and stronger. Your skills, talent and passion make it possible to live this purpose, and for customers and our business to achieve great results. Sherwin-Williams is a place that takes its stability, growth and momentum and translates it to possibility for our people. Our people are behind the strength of our success, and we invest and support you in:

Life … with rewards, benefits and the flexibility to enhance your health and well-being

Career … with opportunities to learn, develop new skills and grow your contribution

Connection … with an inclusive team and commitment to our own and broader communities

It's all here for you... let's Create Your

Possible

At Sherwin-Williams, part of our mission is to help our employees and their families live healthier, save smarter and feel better. This starts with a wide range of world-class benefits designed for you. From retirement to health care, from total well-being to your daily commute—it matters to us. A general description of benefits offered can be found at http://www.myswbenefits.com/ . Click on “Candidates” to view benefit offerings that you may be eligible for if you are hired as a Sherwin-Williams employee.

Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case and will impact where actual compensation may fall within the stated wage range. The wage range listed for this role takes into account the wide range of factors considered in making compensation decisions including skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. The wage range, other compensation, and benefits information listed is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws including with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act where applicable.

Sherwin-Williams is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.  All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, age, pregnancy, genetic information, creed, marital status or any other consideration prohibited by law or by contract.

As a VEVRAA Federal Contractor, Sherwin-Williams requests state and local employment services delivery systems to provide priority referral of Protected Veterans.

Please be aware, Sherwin-Williams recruiting team members will never request a candidate to provide a payment, ask for financial information, or sensitive personal information like national identification numbers, date of birth, or bank account numbers during the application process.