Scientist, Personal Care Formulation

About You:

We are seeking an experienced hands-on personal care formulator to join our Formulation team, reporting to the Director of Personal Care R&D Formulation (Topicals). This is a bench-forward role at the center of a growing topicals portfolio; you will formulate across both leave-on and rinse-off products designed to support scalp health and hair strand performance.

You will develop novel, proprietary formulas in-house, evaluate them against consumer and clinical performance targets, and carry them through scale-up with our contract manufacturing partners. You will also help unlock Unilever's science and technology capabilities for Nutrafol, building the processes and infrastructure that accelerate our upstream formulation work.

The right person is highly organized, proactive, and a strong collaborator who can operate autonomously against key project initiatives. You will serve as a formulation subject matter expert for personal care initiatives, partnering across Product Development, Clinical, QA/RA, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Creative.

Location:

Hybrid: Trumbull, CT three days per week on site, two days remote (depending on business needs)

• Because this role requires regular on-the-bench formulation work, candidates must be within commuting distance of the Unilever facilities in Trumbull, CT and New Haven, CT.

Responsibilities:

Formulation Development & Innovation

• Design, benchmark, and optimize novel proprietary formulations for scalp and hair across leave-on formats (scalp serums, masks, treatments, detanglers, leave-in conditioners, etc) and rinse-off formats (shampoos, conditioners, scalp cleansers, treatment masks, etc).
• Select optimal functional and active ingredient systems to deliver target consumer experience, sensory profile, performance, and scalp and hair health benefits.
• Translate product and marketing briefs into technically sound formulation strategies, including prototype iterations, benchmarking against competitive products, and clear rationale for ingredient selection.
• Troubleshoot formulation challenges spanning stability, compatibility, rheology, preservation, fragrance, and sensory performance.
• Track and evaluate emerging personal care and cosmetic science innovations, raw materials, and technologies, and assess their fit for the Nutrafol portfolio.

Testing, Evaluation & Substantiation

• Design and execute prototype evaluation programs including stability, compatibility, preservative efficacy, and preclinical scalp and hair performance testing.
• Conduct hands-on preclinical performance assessments (e.g., tress work, combing and tensile measures, deposition, scalp models) and analyze and interpret the resulting data.
• Coordinate with contract research organizations, external laboratories, and partner testing groups to plan, execute, and interpret preclinical and consumer studies.
• Partner with Clinical and Regulatory colleagues to generate the formulation-side data needed to support product claims.
• Organize and track prototype and retain samples from contract manufacturers, including receipt, storage, retrieval, and shipping.

Scale-Up, Commercialization & Lifecycle

• Partner with contract manufacturers through scale-up, pilot batching, and first production, ensuring formula intent and performance are preserved.
• Own formulation integrity across the full product life cycle in coordination with Product Development, QA/RA, and Supply Chain, including reformulations, raw material substitutions, and continuous improvement.
• Support packaging compatibility assessments and partner with Packaging and Supply Chain on component selection and fill considerations.
• Develop formulas with cost of goods targets in mind, balancing performance, consumer experience, and formula cost.
• Incorporate sustainability considerations — responsibly sourced and naturally derived ingredients, biodegradability, water and energy footprint, and concentration or format efficiency — into formulation decisions.

Quality, Regulatory & Claims Partnership

• Partner with QA/RA to ensure formulas meet U.S. and applicable international cosmetic regulatory requirements, including MoCRA obligations, ingredient restrictions, and safety substantiation.
• Support the development and technical substantiation of product claims in collaboration with Regulatory, Legal, Clinical, and Marketing.
• Maintain awareness of OTC monograph requirements where relevant to scalp and hair products, and flag implications early in development.
• Ensure formulation documentation, specifications, and technical records meet internal quality and audit standards.

Lab Operations & Capability Building

• Maintain the Nutrafol lab bench, including equipment calibration and maintenance, raw material ordering and restocking, inventory management, and safety compliance.
• Help establish and run the processes that give Nutrafol access to Unilever capabilities — stability, analytical testing, microbiology, consumer research, and sensory — and drive the logistics through to results.
• Contribute to building internal formulation infrastructure: formula databases, raw material libraries, testing protocols, and standard operating procedures.

Communication, Documentation & Intellectual Property

• Prepare and deliver clear technical presentations and data summaries to audiences at all levels of the organization, from bench scientists to executive leadership.
• Maintain rigorous, timely records and data management for reports, laboratory notebooks, NDAs/CDAs, supplier and external materials, and internal presentations.
• Work with patent attorneys to provide scientific content supporting new patents for novel personal care formulations and technologies.

Requirements:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's and/or Master's degree in cosmetic science, chemistry, biology, chemical engineering, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of hands-on experience in cosmetic or personal care formulation. Bench experience is required: making prototypes, evaluating stability, and performing or interpreting preclinical performance measures.
• Demonstrated experience formulating across multiple formats, including surfactant systems (shampoos, cleansers), emulsions (conditioners, creams, masks), and aqueous or hydroalcoholic systems (serums, tonics, sprays).
• Experience formulating prestige or premium personal care products, with familiarity with clean beauty standards and naturally derived ingredients.

Technical Skills & Knowledge

• Well versed in preclinical methods used to evaluate hair and scalp product performance, and able to select the right method for a given benefit.
• Solid understanding of clinical and consumer research methods used to evaluate product performance.
• Familiarity with functional and active ingredients for scalp health and hair strand health, and how delivery system and format affect their performance.
• Working knowledge of the current and evolving U.S. cosmetic regulatory landscape, including MoCRA.
• Comfort interpreting analytical, microbiological, and stability data and acting on it.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hair and scalp biology knowledge, including familiarity with the scalp microbiome and how personal care products and ingredients influence it.
• Experience with OTC or dermatological products.
• Experience developing sulfate-free, silicone-free, or other constraint-driven formulation systems.
• Experience supporting claims substantiation programs.
• Familiarity with formula costing and COGS optimization.

Core Competencies

• Exceptional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate technical work for non-technical audiences.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a track record of completing work on time and accurately.
• Initiative and the ability to work independently while contributing to a high-performing team.
• Proven ability to learn new skills quickly and adapt to new processes smoothly.
• Creative problem-solving and a bias toward action.

Work Environment & Travel

• Regular hands-on laboratory work, including handling raw materials and operating lab equipment in accordance with safety protocols.
• Travel to manufacturing sites, supplier facilities, trade shows, and in-person team meetings, approximately 10–20%.