Senior Product Development Specialist

As Senior Product Development Specialist in our Automotive Segment, you will be the regional technical product owner for your assigned customers. The position is located in our plant in Pune, and will contribute decisively to our growth plan in India. This role encompasses the technical consulting of our OEM and TIER customers, the development of new products as customer driven solutions, and the lead of development projects until SOP of the car models. As Senior Development Specialist you will contribute to coach and personally develop the team members in the development and operational development.  

In particular, you will be responsible for and contribute to:

• Product development according to market and customer demands.
• Lead and succesfull completion of complex and challenging technical development projects with regards to quality, time and cost.
• Consultation of customers on product solutions, in alignment with your partners in the sales and in the design department.
• Selection and development of raw material suppliers, in alignment with the purchasing department.
• Execution of lab trials with the target to create new and improved formulations and products.
• Initiation and supervision of production trials and customer processing investigations.
• One-team-cooperation with the product development team in Germany, Hanover.
• Narrow cooperation with adjacent departments, especially development, design, PPI, production, SCM, quality, test laboratories, purchasing, sales, customer technical service.

• Master's degree in Chemistry or equivalent technical field like polymer science or process engineering.
• At least 6 years of professional experience in research and development in the field of chemistry, polymer production, polymer formulation, or textile industry. Experience in the chemistry of PVC and its applications is required.
• 3 years of professional experience within an international environment.
• Application-oriented experience in the development of automotive interior trim products, ideally PVC or PUR based.
• Proven project management experience in complex and challenging projects
• High level of interpersonal skills (communication, integrity etc.) and resiliance, as is needed for the leading of project teams in a matrix organisation
• Excellent language and intercultural skills for the vivid exchange in a global company with development contacts in Germany, North America and China.
• Excellent communication skills, open-minded approach, and analytical mindset with a collaborative team orientation.
• Advanced experience in customer relation management with focus on technical consulting, acquisition success, and launch-project execution.

Ready to drive with Continental? Take the first step and fill in the online application.