R&D Manager – Product Development

About the role

The R&D Manager will lead all research and development activities for product formulation, packaging, quality and continuous improvement. This role ensures Henkel’s portfolio stays competitive, innovative and compliant with internal quality standards.

Key responsibilities

• Lead development, reformulation and improvement of products to meet market and customer requirements.
• Plan, coordinate and supervise product trials, including new raw materials, formulations and packaging.
• Collaborate with Purchasing and Supply Chain to identify cost‑optimization opportunities while maintaining quality.
• Work closely with Marketing and Sales to capture market feedback and drive new product concepts.
• Handle customer complaints, investigate root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Resolve quality issues arising from production, warehousing or suppliers.
• Evaluate and approve raw material, packaging material and product specifications.
• Maintain up‑to‑date product specifications, formulations, operating instructions and technical documentation.
• Interpret laboratory and application test results and recommend improvements.
• Conduct competitive product analysis to identify optimization and cost‑reduction opportunities.
• Ensure proper testing, documentation and transfer of new products to production.
• Provide technical support to Production, Quality, Supply Chain, Purchasing and Marketing.
• Monitor industry trends, raw material innovations and technology developments for portfolio enhancement.

Required profile

• Proven ability to lead R&D projects and coordinate cross‑functional teams.
• Strong analytical mindset with focus on quality and cost efficiency.

Required skills

• Product formulation
• Product development
• Quality assurance
• Technical documentation
• Raw material evaluation
• Packaging material evaluation