Principal Scientist

About this Position At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping the future through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With our trusted brands like Persil®, ‘all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and our cutting-edge technologies, you’ll have countless opportunities to explore new paths and grow.

This position is with our Consumer Brands business unit – where we empower our employees to bring the best Laundry & Home Care and Hair products to people around the world.

Dare to learn new skills, advance in your career and make an impact at Henkel. What you´ll do

• Independently lead the formulation design, development, optimization, and scale-up of hair care and styling products from ideation through commercialization
• Apply advanced technical expertise in surfactants, conditioning systems, polymers, emulsions, silicones, rheology modifiers, and active delivery systems to create innovative formulations
• Identify and solve complex formulation, stability, compatibility, and manufacturing challenges
• Translate consumer insights, market trends, and performance benchmarks into technically viable product solutions
• Design and execute experimental plans, analyze data, and drive formulation decisions based on sound scientific principles
• Lead technical assessment of competitive products and identify opportunities for innovation and differentiation
• Partner closely with pilot plant and manufacturing teams to ensure smooth scale-up, process optimization, and robust commercialization
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Regulatory, Quality, Packaging, and Procurement to ensure products meet all performance, compliance, and cost requirements
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior scientists and support the development of team capabilities
• Develop products and work processes in accordance with Henkel SHE-Q Standards ensuring consumer safety and compliance with applicable regulations.
• Follow established or create occupational workplace assessments, HAZOPs, and SOPs as needed to maintain a safe
  
  

What makes you a good fit

• B.S/ M.S. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or related scientific discipline 10 years of formulation development experience in hair care and/or styling products
• Demonstrated success independently developing and commercializing hair care or styling products
• Deep technical knowledge of formulation chemistry and structure-property relationships relevant to hair care systems
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Experience with scale-up, manufacturing transfer, and commercialization processes
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deliver results in a fast-paced environment
• Strong presentation, organizational and interpersonal skills are critical
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to junior scientists, including helping structure and prioritize daily work, supporting experimental planning and execution, and fostering scientific development
• Ability to travel 15% of time
  
  

Some benefits of joining Henkel

• Health Insurance: affordable plans for medical, dental, vision and wellbeing starting on day 1
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off including sick, vacation, holiday and volunteer time, flexible & hybrid work policies (depending on role), and vacation buy / sell program
• Financial: 401k matching, employee share plan with voluntary investment and Henkel matching shares, annual performance bonus, service awards and student loan reimbursement
• Family Support: 12-week gender neutral parental leave (up to 20 weeks for parents giving birth), fertility support, adoption & surrogacy reimbursement, discounted child and elderly care, and scholarships
• Career Growth: diverse national and international growth opportunities, access to thousands of skills development courses, and tuition reimbursement
  
  

Henkel’s R&D labs are planned to relocate to Trumbull in the latter half of 2027. Accordingly, this position will relocate with the team and will be based on-site at our Trumbull R&D Center once the move is complete. Relocation benefits will not be provided as a result of this move.

The salary range for this role is $110000.00 and $120000.00. This range represents the good‑faith minimum and maximum wages the Company reasonably expects to offer for this role at the time of posting. In addition to base salary, this position may be eligible for incentive pay or other forms of compensation, as applicable. The Company also offers a comprehensive benefits package as described above. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate’s skills, experience, education, training, and work location. This posting is intended to comply with all applicable state and local pay transparency laws.

Henkel does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or employment agencies. Unsolicited referrals and resumes are considered Henkel property and therefore, Henkel will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited referral.

At Henkel, we come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe the uniqueness of all our employees is the power in us. Henkel is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.