The KDC/ONE team is made up of the best in the business.  Our diverse and evolving workforce thrives in our environment of constant teamwork and collaboration. Join us today!

*NOTE: We are not engaging external recruiting partners for this role at this time. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

About KDC/One

KDC/One is a global leader in innovative, end‑to‑end contract manufacturing for beauty, personal care, and household products. Our expertise spans advanced formulation, cutting‑edge R&D, and world‑class manufacturing capabilities. We proudly partner with many of the world’s most recognized brands, helping them bring breakthrough products to market with exceptional quality, speed, and creativity. At KDC/One, we are driven by excellence, innovation, and a commitment to delivering exceptional value to our clients.

The KDC/One Chatsworth location is seeking a Principal Scientist with strong hands‑on bench expertise in hair care, skin care, and OTC formulations. This is a highly technical role ideal for an experienced formulator who excels in innovation, complex problem solving, and leading formulation development from concept through commercialization.

General Description

The Principal Scientist is a senior technical expert responsible for driving strategic innovation, developing advanced formulations, and creating novel technologies that support KDC/One’s innovation roadmap. This role leads complex formulation development, designs scientific studies to substantiate product claims, and generates high‑quality technical evidence in alignment with KDC/One standards. The Principal Scientist partners cross‑functionally to bring new concepts, raw materials, and technologies to life, ensuring robust, scalable, and commercially viable products.

Specific Responsibilities & Duties

A. Laboratory Leadership & Technical Execution

• Promotes a safe working environment and ensures adherence to EHS policies, GLP, cGMP, and SOP requirements.
• Formulates batches daily per Optiva Workflows and accurately documents formulas, specifications, and Lab Notebook entries.
• Conducts and supports stability testing, collaborating closely with the Stability Team.
• Leads scale‑up activities, working with Compounding and Manufacturing to ensure smooth transitions from lab to production; recommends process optimizations.
• Mentors, trains, and supports junior chemists; provides backup support to Team Leaders.
• Participates in internal audits and supports Self‑Improvement (SIP) audit preparation.
• Creates and reviews raw material specifications; troubleshoots out‑of‑spec batches and approves change control requests.
• Performs other duties as assigned by R&D Management.

B. Formulation & Product Development

• Leads formulation development for hair care, skin care, OTC, and personal care products, ensuring formulations are robust, stable, scalable, and compliant.
• Manages multiple projects simultaneously, balancing shifting priorities to meet deadlines and corporate objectives.
• Designs and interprets complex experimental plans; develops predictive models and presents findings to senior leadership.
• Conducts patent searches, reviews scientific literature, and identifies emerging technologies relevant to innovation goals.
• Sources and evaluates new raw materials and technologies; validates specifications and oversees technical documentation.
• Collaborates with Marketing, QA, Regulatory, Operations, and Manufacturing to ensure seamless development and launch execution.
• Develops batch records, study methods, project tracking documentation, cost summaries, and progress reports for management.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with vendors, suppliers, consultants, and industry experts to support new technology advancement.
• Attends vendor meetings, technical seminars, and industry training to remain current with scientific and market trends.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Organic Chemistry, Chemistry, or Biochemistry required; Master’s preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of formulation experience in consumer products; strong preference for cosmetics, contract manufacturing, and FDA‑regulated environments.
• Extensive hands‑on bench experience developing hair care, skin care, and OTC formulations.
• Strong technical understanding of emulsions, surfactants, suspensions, structured liquids, polymers, colorants, and raw material chemistry.
• Expertise in GLP, GDP, and writing functional testing SOPs.
• Deep knowledge of global regulatory standards (FDA, CTFA, PCPC) and cosmetic ingredient labeling.
• Advanced skills in data analysis, report writing, and scientific interpretation.
• Proficiency in MS Office; strong analytical and documentation capabilities.
• Demonstrated leadership with strong strategic thinking, project management, and change‑management abilities.
• Strong communication skills—written, verbal, and interpersonal—with the ability to work effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Proven ability to mentor teams, drive innovation, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple complex projects.
• Commitment to continuous learning, process improvement, and maintaining up‑to‑date technical expertise.
• Demonstrates a sense of urgency, initiative, and accountability in achieving project and business objectives.

Work Environment

• Process manufacturing
• Laboratory
• Compounding
• Moderate noise level
• Low to moderate lighting