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Lead Scientist Formulations

Kimberly-Clark
United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 17 Apr 2026
💰 $107,780/yr($87,260/yr$107,780/yr)

About the role

Lead Scientist Formulations

Job Description

Join the team behind iconic brands like Huggies®, Kleenex®, Cottonelle®, Scott®, Kotex®, Poise®, Depend®, and Kimberly-Clark Professional®. At Kimberly-Clark, it’s all here for you—innovation, growth, and the chance to make a real impact. 

You were made to create Better Care for a Better World: exploring uncharted questions, engineering innovative solutions, advancing scientific understanding, and constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. You want to be part of a performance culture dedicated to solving real-world problems with purpose and precision. You want to work in an environment that promotes sustainability, inclusion, wellbeing, and career development. In this role, you’ll help us shape the future and improve lives for billions of people around the world. It starts with YOU.

About You

The GR&D Wipes Lead Scientist Formulations – Front End Innovation provides formulation expertise and leadership for developing technologies and formulations for global wet wipes and dry tissue.  This role resides within the GR&D Wipes Product Steward organization and will primarily be focused on supporting global wet wipe and dry tissue product development. The role will partner closely with GR&D, KCNA R&D, Global Quality, Marketing, EHS and Segment R&D teams.   Leads/supports projects and carries out accountabilities with a collaborative mindset ensuring visibility of progress/results to all key stakeholders. The incumbent will develop new technologies (or re-purpose technologies) and apply those technologies to deliver consumer-relevant benefits to meet business priorities.

In one of our R&D roles, you’ll focus on winning with consumers and the market, while putting safety, mutual respect, and human dignity at the center. Job responsibilities include:

  • Leads formulation development projects that meet consumer, quality, product safety and compliance needs. Delivers formulations per project timelines and IMF commitments.
  • Develops creative technical solutions based on consumer insights, leveraging published scientific research, patent art, and deep understanding of cosmetic raw materials and formulation stability fundamentals.
  • Works closely with Formulation Technical Leader and Formulation Team members to progress formulation development activities and design/carry-out lab experiments.
  • Closely partners with Global and Regional R&D product development and Marketing teams to ensure work meets project needs. Builds strong relationships with at least one business to coordinate support.  
  • Considers impact of new technologies on quality and manufacturing. Works with D&C to develop line-of-sight to commercial implementation at K-C or external facilities. 
  • Evaluates data and provides interpretation.  Makes connections between formulations, product performance and aging/stability data. Makes recommendations on product development activities.
  • Communicates complicated technical information in a clear and engaging manner to non-technical audiences and builds credibility to gain buy-in on recommendations.

To succeed in this role, you will need the following qualifications:

  • Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a chemistry related discipline such as Chemistry, Biology, Food Science, or Chemical Engineering; 2+ years’ experience in a Research, Quality, or Manufacturing function
  • Experience leading small to moderate sized projects; Experience working in a chemical laboratory and expertise in lab practices; Basic understanding of experimental design, statistics and data analysis concepts
  • Technical expertise in formulation science. Experience in cosmetic product development and manufacturing such as wet wipes, is preferred.
  • Demonstrated application of utilizing formulation expertise to drive action in product development and/or manufacturing, is preferred.
  •  Experience with data analysis and statistical software such as JMP or Minitab, is preferred.
  • Knowledge of Cosmetic and/or OTC drug testing requirements, familiar with FDA requirements for regulated products, is preferred.

Led by Purpose. Driven by You.

Total Benefits

We believe that our employees are our greatest asset, and we're committed to providing them with the resources they need to be successful. If you're looking for a rewarding career with a company that cares about its employees, then Kimberly-Clark is the place for you.​

Here are just a few of the benefits you’d enjoy working in this role for Kimberly-Clark. For a complete overview, see www.mykcbenefits.com

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Company

Kimberly-Clark

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