Head - Research & Development - Chemicals

Head of Research & Development

Location: Hyderabad

Reports to: CEO

The mandate:

The company manufactures intermediates for crop protection products from its Hyderabad site. It is now building a specialty chemicals business alongside that - paints and coatings, home care, personal care - and this role owns both: holding the existing agrochemical pipeline while building the new one from a blank sheet.

Responsibilities:

- Own the R&D function end to end - route selection, process development, scale-up and technology transfer to plant

- Build the specialty chemicals programme from concept through to first commercial campaign

- Strengthen and extend the agrochemical intermediates pipeline

- Partner with CDMO customers on technical discussions, feasibility and campaign delivery

- Set the technology agenda with the CEO and translate it into an R&D plan, budget and team structure

- Build, mentor and retain a senior scientific team

- Own safety, IP and regulatory discipline across all R&D activity

Candidate profile:

- Currently heading an R&D function, ideally in a CDMO or custom synthesis environment

- Hands-on depth across both agrochemical intermediates and specialty chemicals

- Demonstrated record of taking products from lab through kilo lab and pilot to commercial plant scale

- PhD in Organic / Process Chemistry or Chemical Engineering

- Comfortable operating as a business leader, not only a technical one - customer-facing, commercially literate, accountable for outcomes