Laboratory Technician

Job Title: Laboratory Technician

Job #: 2024-11728

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Industry: Chemicals (Paint & Coatings)

Schedule: 1’st Shift

Salary: $26-$28 per hour (depending upon experience)

Axalta has remained at the forefront of the coatings industry by continually investing in innovative solutions. We engineer technologies that protect customers’ products – whether they are battling heat, light, corrosion, abrasion, moisture, or chemicals – and add dimension and beauty with colorful finishes. We have a vast and ever-evolving portfolio of brands primed to play an important part in everything from modernizing infrastructure around the world to enabling the next generation of electric and autonomous vehicles.

We are currently looking for a Laboratory Technician to join us at our facility in Philadelphia, PA.

R&D Lab Technician provides support to the Chemists / Engineers in the research and development process leading to the creation of automotive coating products.

Key responsibilities:

• Must perform all work in a safe manner and in accordance with all lab and plant safety regulations.
• Safely handle, categorize, and dispose of chemicals on a routine basis.
• Proper handling, labelling, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste materials.
• Preparation and evaluation of coating formulations including primer, topcoat, and clear coat in a lab environment.
• Accurately running and recording test results for all coatings formulations, polymers, dispersions, and intermediates.
• Perform specific analytical testing including but not limited to viscosity, weight solids, Ph, film build, etc.
• Operate other measurement instrumentation such as spectrophotometers, Wave-Scan, Gloss meters, etc.
• Use of mathematical skills such as statistics & Algebra.
• Documentation, interpretation & communication of experimental test results using computer programs such as Word, Excel, & PowerPoint.
• Organization & completion multiple tasks under strict time constraints.
• Interact and communicate effectively with fellow Axalta personnel and customers.
• Must be able to work well with supervisor and a variety of R&D, manufacturing, and marketing personnel in a team environment.
• Train other R&D technicians on specific tasks once qualified.
• Travel as needed to an internal/external customer location for meetings, training, and product support activities.

Minimum requirements:

• A 2-year degree from a college or technical school with at least three years of experience in an industrial laboratory environment, or a 4-year degree in a physical or life science with some level of chemistry or chemical lab experience.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills to be able to work well in both self-managed and team environment.
• Able to manage multiple projects simultaneously, meeting established deadlines.
• Comfortable with safely working with hazardous materials.
• Strong interest in hands-on work to ensure a good understanding of the products.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Possess strong computer skills and ability to interpret data and trends.
• Flexibility to travel as needed in support of customer and product-technical support.

Axalta operates its business in two segments: Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings, which serve four end markets, including Refinish, Industrial, Light Vehicle and Commercial Vehicle, across North America, EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Our diverse global footprint allows us to deliver solutions in over 140+ countries and coat 30 million vehicles per year. We’ve recently set an exciting 2040 carbon neutrality goal, in addition to 10 other sustainability initiatives, and we take pride in working with our customers to optimize their businesses and achieve their goals.