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R&D- Innovation Associate Chemist

Sherwin-Williams
Minneapolis, MN Full Time
POSTED ON 4/4/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 5/2/2026
Job Description

We are seeking an Associate Chemist to join our General Industrial R&D team focusing on development of new products in the liquid coatings innovation team. This role is ideal for a recent chemistry or materials science graduate who is excited to build a strong technical foundation while gaining hands-on experience across the full product development lifecycle.

You’ll work as part of a collaborative team of chemists and scientists developing innovative coatings technologies, with increasing ownership and responsibility as your skills and confidence grow. The position offers meaningful exposure to manufacturing, sales, marketing, and customers, providing a well-rounded introduction to working in an industrial organization.

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

Key Responsibilities

  • Support the development and formulation of new coatings for the General Industrial market
  • Work on coatings technologies including 2K polyurethanes, epoxies, and related chemistries
  • Contribute as a team member on larger, more complex programs before moving on to lead smaller projects
  • Design experiments, evaluate data, and make technically sound recommendations for next steps
  • Maintain accurate, detailed documentation of lab work, formulations, and testing
  • Prepare written updates and technical presentations for internal teams and stakeholders
  • Collaborate with cross-functional partners including manufacturing, sales, marketing, and customers
  • Participate in product scale-up, validation, and launch activities
  • Travel to manufacturing and customer locations to support trials and implementation when ready

Growth & Development

This role is structured to help you build strong foundational skills before taking on expanded responsibility. You’ll work within an established team that emphasizes coaching, knowledge sharing, and hands-on learning. As you demonstrate readiness, opportunities include:

  • Leading development projects
  • Serving as a technical interface with sales, marketing, manufacturing, and customers
  • Supporting manufacturing scale-up and troubleshooting
  • Driving products from ideation through commercialization

Qualifications

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

  • Must be legally authorized to work in the country for which you are applying for employment (without now or in the future needing sponsorship for employment work visa and/or permanent residence status).
  • Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Math field.
  • Must be at least 18 years of age.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Bachelors degree in Chemistry
  • Formulation experience in coatings or related field
  • Experience with statistical analysis or data evaluation

Travel Requirements: 20%

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.

Salary : $66,925 - $83,464

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