CURE Chemicals Specialist

About the Role

This position is a senior R&D and technical leadership role focused on Gradiant’s CURE chemicals portfolio. It is intended for an experienced specialist who has worked across refinery operations, upstream oil and gas, petrochemicals, industrial wastewater treatment chemicals, specialty formulations, commercialization, and customer-facing technical support.

The role supports the creation, deployment, and improvement of chemical treatment programs for refineries, oil and gas transport, and water and wastewater treatment applications. The selected professional will work across research, operations, sales, and client needs to deliver chemical solutions that strengthen asset reliability, improve process performance, and support water sustainability.

The position also involves leading a multidisciplinary team, planning project schedules and budgets, setting resource plans, building laboratory test capabilities to verify process applications, and ensuring all work aligns with safety and environmental requirements. Findings and recommendations will be shared with stakeholders and cross-functional teams so that R&D outputs can be translated into practical operations.

The role will also oversee the development, qualification, commercialization, and technical support of specialty chemicals for refineries, upstream oil and gas, petrochemicals, industrial water, and wastewater treatment.

Technical Support

• Support the use of CURE chemicals across Oil & Gas, refinery, petrochemical, upstream production, utility equipment, and wastewater treatment environments.
• Drive the development of CURE chemical solutions through formulation review, laboratory validation, performance improvement, and application testing.
• Contribute to product trials, pilot runs, and the launch of new products.
• Draft technical documents, chemical treatment proposals, and performance summaries.
• Provide advanced technical guidance to customers in refinery, petrochemical, upstream production, industrial utility, and wastewater treatment segments.
• Carry out field troubleshooting, failure reviews, and root-cause investigations.
• Lead product performance evaluations and optimization studies.
• Assist business development efforts through technical presentations, workshops, and proposal support.
• Take part in site audits, pilot testing, commissioning activities, and performance assessments.
• Act as the subject matter expert for CURE chemical technologies.

Innovation and Technology Development

• Track emerging technologies, industry developments, and regulatory updates in the water treatment field.
• Identify areas for innovation and help create new products or processes that improve treatment effectiveness and sustainability.

Product Management

• Lead formulation work for specialty process chemicals such as corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, antiscalants, oxygen scavengers, antifoams, CIP chemicals, and biocides.
• Own new product introduction work from idea stage through commercialization, including benchmarking, competitor review, and intellectual property development.
• Keep detailed records of chemical performance, support product portfolio growth, and coordinate laboratory evaluations and product testing.

Safety and Compliance

• Carry out work in line with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ADOSH SF requirements, supporting continual improvement in quality, environmental performance, and occupational health and safety.
• Ensure research activities follow applicable safety, environmental, ISO, and government regulations.
• Apply laboratory safety best practices and help maintain a strong safety culture within the team.

Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain accurate documentation of research work, test methods, and results according to internal standards.
• Prepare and submit required documentation for regulatory review and compliance purposes.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in chemistry or chemical engineering is required.
• A master’s degree or Ph.D. in a related discipline is considered a strong advantage.
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, and people-management skills with the ability to guide and motivate a diverse team.
• Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving ability, attention to detail, and skill in interpreting data.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for presenting research, preparing reports, and working with internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Solid understanding of water treatment chemistry and process optimization.
• Broad experience in refinery chemistry, produced water treatment, cooling water treatment, boiler water chemistry, petrochemical process chemicals, and industrial wastewater treatment.
• Deep knowledge of chemical formulation development and product lifecycle management.
• Strong customer engagement ability, technical sales support capability, project leadership experience, and stakeholder management skills.
• More than 10 years of experience in specialty chemicals, industrial water treatment chemicals, refinery chemicals, upstream oil and gas production chemicals, petrochemical process chemicals, eco-friendly chemicals, or similar industries.
• Hands-on experience in formulation development, product commercialization, field troubleshooting, customer technical support, and new product introduction.
• Experience with major customers in refineries, petrochemicals, energy, and other industrial sectors is highly desirable.

About the Employer

Gradiant is a global water technology company offering integrated solutions for advanced water and wastewater treatment. Its work supports critical industries such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, lithium and critical minerals, and renewable energy. The company is headquartered in Boston, was founded at MIT, and has more than 1,400 employees worldwide.

Equal Opportunity

Gradiant is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all qualified candidates without discrimination based on race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected status.