Entry-Level Chemist, Industrial Coatings (Sheboygan, WI)

Entry-Level Chemist, Industrial Coatings (Sheboygan, WI)

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A century-old, family-owned industrial coatings manufacturer in Sheboygan, Wisconsin is adding an Entry-Level Chemist to a 9-person R&D lab. No coatings experience required. They will train you from day one.

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𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗬

Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, a family-owned and operated industrial paint and coatings manufacturer with over 100 years of history and roughly 115 employees across two labs and two manufacturing sites in Wisconsin and Georgia. They sit in the top 25 of US paint companies by size, yet feel nothing like a corporate paint company.

The culture is a deliberate middle ground: Six Sigma initiatives and structured stage gate processes run alongside a record player in the lab and regular group bowling outings. The CEO and senior leaders walk the halls and are genuinely accessible. This is a team that invests in people: recent chemists have been sent to week-long Datacolor training in New Jersey, BIC industry seminars, and leadership courses through a local chamber of commerce.

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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬

You will join a 9-person R&D chemistry team at the company's primary Wisconsin lab, which is being built into the center of excellence for all formulation and research work. The lab works across a wide range of paint chemistries: epoxies (solvent-based and water-based), polyurethanes, alkyds (water-reducible and traditional), acrylics, UV-cure systems, and electron beam chemistry. They even manufacture their own catalysts in-house.

You will report to senior chemists and the VP of Technology and Research Operations, a 25-year coatings veteran who came up through Dow Chemical, Valspar, and Sherwin-Williams. You will be mentored on real projects from your first week. The team's philosophy is straightforward: "We might not get the best talent in the world, but if you have motivation and curiosity, we'll be with you every step of the way."

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𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢

• Conduct performance and property testing on paint and coatings formulations

• Modify existing formulas under senior direction: raw material substitutions, gloss adjustments, viscosity reductions

• Build and test paint batches in the lab

• Learn to operate and interpret analytical instruments including FTIR, rheometer, tensiometer, goniometer, weatherometer, and color spectrophotometer

• Document experiments and write up results clearly

• Support R&D project workflow: participate in customer calls, plant visits, and cross-functional meetings as you grow

• Take advantage of external training opportunities the company funds

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𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞

The lab moves fast. There are 60 to 120 active projects at any time. You will not be handed a project to quietly work on for six months. You will be expected to juggle testing cycles, documentation, and requests from multiple directions. The right candidate finds that energizing, not exhausting.

This is also not a QA role. There are no QA responsibilities here. Your work is formulation and testing, not compliance monitoring.

The work-from-home flexibility is real, but you will start fully on-site until you are embedded in the team and know the workflow cold.

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𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗘'𝗥𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥

𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱:

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field: chemistry, chemical engineering, biology, geology, materials science, or related

• Curiosity. You ask questions. You want to know how things work.

• Self-motivation. You do not wait to be told what to do next.

• Strong written and verbal communication

• Comfort working in an industrial laboratory environment

• Computer fluency and ability to follow standard operating procedures

𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:

• Internship or coursework in coatings, polymers, or formulation chemistry

• Hands-on lab experience with FTIR, rheometer, or color spectrophotometer

• Coursework or genuine interest in color science and color theory

• Familiarity with statistical software such as JMP, Minitab, or Matlab

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𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦

𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆: Competitive and flexible depending on degree and background

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲: Flexible. 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, or similar. You pick a consistent window that works.

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲: Some work-from-home available after full onboarding and integration

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲: Medical, dental, and vision coverage

𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 401(k) with company matching

𝗣𝗧𝗢: Generous paid time off and company-observed holidays

𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Funded external training, industry seminars, leadership courses, and career workshops

This is also a company where careers can grow sideways in interesting ways. If you want to understand how a customer runs their production line, you can go on that call. If you're curious about product management, procurement, or operations, they will set you up with someone to learn from. A small company means real exposure, not a silo.

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𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦

No full-day interview marathons. A Teams video call with the VP of Technology and Research Operations and possibly one other team member, followed by an on-site visit to meet the lab and see where you would be working. If it clicks, a compensation discussion and offer. Start to finish, it is designed to be lean and fast.

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Interested? Apply via LinkedIn and we'll be in touch. Confidential search; your application is fully private.

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𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 | 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱