Hello everyone!
We are looking for a R&D Chemist (E-liquid Mixologist) 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.
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
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.
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;