Senior Formulation Development Chemist

Company Description

As a world market leader in crop protection, we help farmers to counter these threats and ensure enough safe, nutritious, affordable food for all – while minimizing the use of land and other agricultural inputs. Syngenta Crop Protection keeps plants safe from planting to harvesting.  From the moment a seed is planted through to harvest, crops need to be protected from weeds, insects and diseases as well as droughts and floods, heat and cold. Syngenta Crop Protection is headquartered in Switzerland.

To learn more visit: www.syngenta.com and www.good-growth-plan

Job Description

Role purpose

• To lead the development of Crop Protection formulation projects through its’ stages to deliver a fit-for-purpose product aligned with regulatory requirements and market expectations.
• To define and execute the experimental programme of Crop Protection formulation projects that may include the development of new procedures, standards, methods, and gaining IP.
• To interpret data to contribute to project team decisions in a timely and comprehensive manner by using statistical tools and identifying technical risks early on and working with stakeholders to define mitigation steps.
• To provide input to respective Product Technology & Engineering (PT&E) sub-functions to assist in developing beneficial manufacturing processes, and novel packaging and develop application methods which are aligned with project goals.
• To be actively involved in mentoring and training more junior Chemists and Experimentalists in technical/technology areas.
• To lead support activities related to production and supply functions for the assigned Country/IMC.
• To be involved in global PT&E initiatives to contribute to the wider function and the organization.

Accountabilities

• Lead crop protection formulation development projects, taking ownership and leading the delivery of all milestones and stage gate promotions. To enable this,
  • Plan, organize and carry out the work programmes at the laboratory, semi-technical, pilot plant or manufacturing scale to design novel formulation options, complying with local and Syngenta HSE policy.
  • Interpret and present to project members external to the function, experimental data and report results and conclusions obtained both orally and in written form to allow co-gent and timely Stage C and D project decisions, Regulatory submissions and accurate information archiving and transfer for future commercial manufacturing activities.
  • Provide Product Chemistry supporting data, arrange for efficacy trials, tox and hazard assessments to be carried out at the appropriate time in other functions.
  • Provide the formulation design input, advice and recommendations required to define the process equipment and quality assurance requirements.
• Be actively involved in the application of new technology to CP innovation projects in line with current and future trends in technology which is of relevance to crop protection.
• Engage with diverse stakeholders across functions to understand targets and conduct a wide literature survey/IP search to enable the generation of a project charter as part of a project plan. Execute the same and come up with ideas/recommendations to apply this to tangible future projects.
• Leverage new technology or existing ones from other industries to troubleshoot issues and provide solutions to often-occurring or long-standing problems.
• Be able to work with different formulation types including handling equipment and instrumentation at different scales and use a range of lab techniques for characterization.  Maintain a broad knowledge of Active Ingredients (AI) and co-formulants chemistry and properties and understand their impact on the choice of formulation type and design. Use existing and novel co-formulants rationally in the best interest of the project by understanding their use in target markets and engaging with stakeholders in chemicals regulatory and product registration. 
• Ensure compliance with Syngenta’s HSE-MS requirements and take responsibility as the element owner.
• Mentor and train more junior colleagues in one or more technical skills or technology areas of relevance to Syngenta, to address tangible project needs and development needs of the team. 
• Lead support activities related to production and supply (e.g., technology transfer of products, sourcing/procurement activities, troubleshooting of formulation quality issues) as Chemist contact for the Country/IMC.
• Actively participate in global PT&E initiatives (e.g., improved processes, resolving common problems across PT&E sites, contributing to