Manager - Compounding (R&D)

Key Purpose Of The Job (Position Summary)

Key Activities& Responsibilities

Planning

• Liaise with CFT’s to understand NPD plans and plans for Product improvement
• Liaise with the purchase department/ vendors for procuring the required raw materials as per the schedules for R&D trials and lab
• Prepare a Factory trial plan detailing the process and timelines forrubber compound mixing
• Ensure availability of machinery/ equipment and resources to carry out compound mixing
• Monitor the overall expenditure on compounding to ensure compliance to the budget for the lab
  

Compound development for new products

• Develop the recipe of rubber compound mixture by selecting the type of rubber, amount of filler to blend with the rubber and the curatives and accelerators in the compound to meet the required product and performance standards
• Provide inputs for preparing the Lab mixing paper report and manage the lab to ensure that Lab mixing process (raw material arrangement, weighing and mixing) is carried out as per the specifications in the report
• Conduct Factory process trials to ensure that rubber compound mixing is carried out in adherence to the trial plan
• Develop test methods for simulating performance of the compound
• Review the factory compound property analysis report to ensure that the compound is as per the specifications
• Product validation to ensure that the product meets the required objectives
  

Improvement of existing compounds

• Undertake technical economy projects that involve analysis of existing compounds, trials for alternative raw materials and compounds, etc (value engineering)
• Review the field failures (customer complaints) to determine the cause of failure and analyse the ways to improve existing compound mixture
• Initiate corrective actions to bring about the changes/ improvements to the existing compounds to improve product performance
• Conduct reverse engineering and estimate formulations to determine which materials and processes were used to produce the rubber compound (in the competitor product) from a combination of raw rubber, chemicals and pigment
  

People Management

• Manage performance of the team by conducting timely appraisals and provide constructive feedback
• Ensure overall morale of the compounding team is high
• Ensure that the team is adequately trained, equipped and motivated so that the work can be completed a timely and cost-effective manner
• Ensure capability building of the team
  

Education

Education and Experience Required

Experience