R&D Leader (AI/ML)

Location: Onsite at the Delaware, Ohio site in the Columbus area, United States; travel, including international travel, is required as needed and will be less than 10%.

Company

hirify.global develops coatings and surface solutions for industrial, transportation, consumer products, construction, and aftermarket customers, with a focus on innovation, sustainability, and color.

What you will do

• Lead the initiation, early development, and transition of Refinish coating projects from prototype development through commercialization.
• Manage the day-to-day work of 2–3 project teams comprising 5–10 individual contributors.
• Lead multidisciplinary collaboration across applications, resin scale-up, manufacturing, operations, procurement, marketing, and global technology functions.
• Build project plans, identify staffing and resources, drive milestones and deliverables, and accelerate speed to market.
• Maintain safe technology lab operations, strengthen safety culture, and ensure compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Develop team members’ career plans, strengthen engagement, and introduce digitalization and AI/ML tools.

Requirements

• PhD with 12+ years of industry experience, or BS/MS with 15+ years of industry experience, in chemistry or chemical engineering, plus proven research, product, or customer development experience.
• 6+ years of R&D people-management leadership experience.
• Proven experience in manufacturing, process engineering, product or process design, and commercialization.
• Ability to persuasively present proposals and technical pathways and gain agreement at the executive level.
• Business acumen and ability to integrate manufacturing, research, and business strategies.
• Experience in internal stakeholder management, technical risk management, and proactive communication.
• Ability to build relationships with internal and external partners and work with remote teams.
• Strong leadership, strategic, organizational, communication, and influencing skills, including at regional, global, and executive levels.
• Entrepreneurial approach to creating value, objective decision-making, self-motivation, attention to detail, teamwork, and ability to work independently; proven success in an S&T environment.

Culture & Benefits

• Health, dental, life, retirement plan, paid vacation and holidays, employee assistance, disability/leave, and other voluntary benefits; offerings are confirmed at hire.
• Safety-focused environment emphasizing integrity, accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and diversity of perspectives.
• Culture centered on customer focus, purposeful and data-driven work, operational excellence, innovation, and speed.
• Opportunities for continuous learning, career development, and employee engagement.