Scientist (Chemistry)

About Us 

We’re HARMAN technology Limited, the market leader in high quality black and white analogue camera film and you’ll probably recognise our brands such as Ilford and Kentmere, and our new colour film HARMAN Phoenix. We’ve acquired over 140 years of specialist knowledge in photographic products and have a unique portfolio of equipment, facilities, and expertise. We continue to make quality film and products that are sold worldwide and expand our product range.

We’re experts - our people are passionate and know their stuff. We design our products from scratch, manufacture on-site and sell them worldwide. We’re continuing to expand our product range and develop our people. 

Why Apply?

We are looking for someone who has a natural love of science and learning. You can expect to learn various aspects of nano, organic, inorganic and polymer chemistry in addition to image and photo physics, coating and drying technologies. Our science and its application is niche and not taught at university which is exciting and you’ll have a team of experienced scientists around you to learn from.

You’ll be working within the Early Development Team. This team develop and explore new technologies and source chemicals. You’ll be assisting four senior scientists with their project work. The Early Development Team work within a Research and Development department of around 20 colleagues, and there’s opportunities to work with and learn from colleagues across the business including production and marketing.

Your main activities will involve dark room working where you’ll be preparing formulations and coating work in low light level conditions. You will also work under normal daylight conditions in other laboratories involving the preparation of dispersions/emulsions, assisting with analytical characterisation techniques such as UV/Vis, FT-IR, particle sizing, rheometry. You will assist with organic chemistry techniques such as TLC, rotary evaporation, distillation, reflux and recrystallisation. You’ll submit samples to our Quality Service team for further photographic analysis. When you’ve got some experience, we’ll give you time to conduct project work of your own to develop your career, knowledge and passion.

You’ll be responsible for creating Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for customer and internal use. This will involve inputting information into specialist software and using your chemical knowledge to understand and verify the output. The software is easy, it’s your chemical knowledge which will be vital.

You can expect this role to be routine or varied, depending on activities so you’ll be comfortable with that variation and able to self-manage your time.

You

• At minimum, a degree in Chemistry – if you’ve no professional experience, this is fine
• Able to work independently and as part of a team
• Able to communicate both verbally and in written form in a technical context
• Able to interpret and draw conclusions from scientific data
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Be proactive and hardworking
• Be inquisitive and have good problem-solving skills
• A proven understanding of scientific principles and terminology, and of laboratory standards including accuracy, reproducibility, control of parameters, close attention to detail and maintain excellent GLP
• Able to carry out laboratory work following standard operating procedures and be competent in relevant techniques

Salary & Benefits:

• Salary range £27,811 to £32,720 – increases based on performance
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays 
• Additional day off to attend our annual Fun Day
• Additional half day for our annual Christmas lunch
• Flexible start and finish times between 6am and 7pm (based on operational needs)
• Build up flexi hours and take an extra day off each month
• Buy up to a week of annual leave
• Death in service benefit (4x your annual salary)
• 30% discount on our product range, 50% discount on Lab services
• Free parking on our secure site car park
• Monthly knowledge sharing sessions via our “Fredtalk” seminar

Application Process

We like to move at pace at Harman so there’s only 2 stages to our recruitment process. 

You’ll be invited to a Teams interview with your potential line manager, senior scientist Anita and our Head of Research and Development, Paul. You’ll discuss your skills/ experience, and they’ll tell you more about the role. If successful, the final stage will be a site visit where they’ll show you around so you can see the various working areas and people in action. You will be asked to do a 15-minute presentation (we’ll give you a topic to cover) and attend a technical and competency-based interview. If we think you could be our next Scientist, we’ll let you know quickly.

We are committed to offering equal opportunities to all. When recruiting, we believe in the ‘right person, right skills, right place’ and that everyone offers a unique perspective. We value our differences as this leads to innovation and growth. This enables us to build a better future for our people, our customers and our communities. So, if you need anything during our recruitment process to ensure you’re able to be at your best, please let us know when you send your CV.

If this sounds like your type of role, please send your CV and a couple of paragraphs telling us what interests you in this role to peopleteam@harmantechnology.com