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Hello everyone!

 

We are looking for a Analytical Chemist for our client in the Czech Republic — a manufacturer operating in a highly regulated e-liquid and vaping category.

 

The goal of the role is to own the production lab loop that connects Product Discovery and Operations: benchmarking competitor e-liquids, building high-fidelity copies from clear briefs, and translating “what tastes right” into stable, compliance-ready, QC-able production standards.

 

This is a hands-on, execution-first lab role. You will not be doing academic research, nor paper-only regulatory work. You will be mixing, testing, documenting, deciding — and shipping repeatable outcomes that production can scale with minimal rework.

 

You will work closely with Operations, QA/Regulatory, and Product teams, while collaborating directly with flavour houses and external labs.

 

What professional skills are important for us?

  • Proven hands-on experience with e-liquid flavour development / mixology (real compounding, iteration loops, sensory evaluation);

  • Practical sensory analysis of vaping products, including nicotine-containing e-liquids;

  • Deep component-level understanding (sweeteners, coolants, acids, extracts, carriers) and their impact on stability, hardware performance, and taste;

  • Working literacy in TPD / EUCEG and basic CLP (enough to generate compliance-ready data inputs);

  • Comfortable in a production lab / cleanroom environment: precision, hygiene, repeatability, routine-heavy work;

  • Strong documentation discipline: versioning, traceability, reproducibility;

  • High proficiency in spreadsheets (Google Sheets) for cataloging and lightweight analysis;

  • Professional English for supplier and flavour-house communication;

  • On-site availability in Brandýs nad Labem.

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Key responsibilities

 

1. Competitive Benchmarking & Copy Development (≈50%)

- Build and maintain a benchmark library of top competitor e-liquids (samples, sensory notes, key parameters);

- Translate benchmark profiles into versioned copy candidates using structured compounding and iteration loops;

- Convert subjective feedback (e.g. “too sweet”, “flat”, “harsh”) into comparative internal scales and data points;

- Close loops with clear decisions: Kill / Iterate / Approve, supported by concise decision notes.

 

2. Compliance & Production Quality Enablement (≈50%)

- Partner with QA/Regulatory to keep formulations compliance-ready (TPD/EUCEG inputs, traceable compositions, basic CLP checks);

- Convert the R&D gold standard into measurable QC targets and tolerances for mass production;

- Support investigations of quality deviations or complaints with lab checks and corrective-action hypotheses;

- Evaluate liquid ↔ hardware trade-offs, including coil performance and gunk buildup behavior.

 

3. Supplier & Flavour-House Collaboration

- Own the flavour sample pipeline: briefs, requests, receiving, logging, evaluation, structured feedback;

- Provide clear, constraint-aware feedback to accelerate supplier iteration (compliance, stability, cost, hardware compatibility);

- Maintain an approved components and substitution rules knowledge base to reduce rework and surprises.

 

4. Lab System, Library & Testing Protocols

- Maintain a structured digital + physical catalog of all samples and iterations (IDs, versions, dates);

- Own the physical “Gold Standard” reference library and ensure every iteration is compared against it;

How you will work

- Hands-on and output-first: samples, iterations, decisions — not theory for theory’s sake;

- Evidence-first: benchmark → measure → document → decide;

- Fast loops with control: fail fast without chaos;

- High ownership, low overhead, low politics;

- Respect Operations time by shipping clean, decision-ready artifacts;

- AI-assisted workflows are welcome where they increase throughput, with explicit validation steps.

 

What success looks like

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In the first 30–60 days:

- A working benchmark library (samples + structured sensory notes + traceable IDs);

- A repeatable lab loop: versioning, testing cadence, decision notes (Kill / Iterate / Approve);

- First wave of competitor copy candidates with clear gaps and next-step logic;

- A usable coil performance / gunk buildup test approach;

- Cleaner, more structured compliance-ready inputs.

 

In 3–6 months:

- QC has clear gold-standard targets and tolerances for priority SKUs;

- Less ambiguity between R&D, QA, and Production on what “good” means;

- Faster benchmarking and copy development cycles with less rework;

- Production launches with fewer surprises under regulatory scrutiny.

 

We offer:

  • Bonus: optional, up to 1× monthly base (annual);

  • Full-time role with long-term cooperation;

  • High autonomy and real ownership of the lab function;

  • Direct collaboration with Operations, Product, and suppliers;

  • A pragmatic, senior team in a regulated, technically interesting category.

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Conditions:

  • Location: Brandýs nad Labem, Czech Republic

  • Format: On-site production lab + occasional remote supplier calls

  • Contract: Full-time

  • Trial period: yes (3 months)

  • Overtime: no — outcomes matter more than hours

 

Hiring process:

  • Recruiter screening call — ~20–25 min;

  • Short prep task — ~30–60 min;

  • Single in-depth interview — ~90 min (with cross-functional segment);

  • Optional short CEO culture-fit call for senior candidates.

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