About the Role

We're a fast-growing, science-led skincare brand building a strong new-product pipeline. We're looking for an exceptional NPD Research Scientist to own the bench-to-batch development of our products. This is a purely technical, lab-based role you are the scientist behind the product, not the person marketing it.

You'll decide what a product should be at a formulation level the actives, the base, the texture, the stability and take it from concept brief through prototype, testing, and pilot/scale-up handover. If you love the lab, believe in clean-yet-effective formulation, and want real ownership over what a growing brand launches, this is for you.

Key Responsibilities

New Product Development (core)

- Convert product concept briefs into technical development plans define formulation strategy, active systems, and target performance for each new product.
- Design, formulate, and iterate prototypes at the bench across categories: face care (serums, cleansers, masks, sunscreen, toners, eye cream), hair care, body care, and lip care.
- Evaluate and work with natural/plant-based actives and modern actives (bakuchiol, peptides, niacinamide, AHAs/BHAs, botanical extracts) to build differentiated products.
- Help shape the product roadmap — recommend what current products and categories the brand can credibly launch based on ingredient science and formulation feasibility.

Lab, Testing & Validation

- Plan and run stability testing (accelerated & real-time), compatibility, pH, viscosity, and preservative-efficacy (challenge) testing.
- Coordinate safety, efficacy, and claim-support testing with internal and external labs (dermatological testing, SPF testing for sun care, in-vitro/in-vivo where relevant).
- Troubleshoot formulation issues emulsion stability, phase separation, discoloration, odor,



actives degradation and resolve them at the bench.
- Maintain rigorous documentation: formulation records, batch records, lab notebooks, specs, and development reports.

Scale-up & Handover

- Support pilot batches and scale-up trials; work with manufacturing to ensure lab formulas translate reliably to bulk production.
- Define raw-material specs, finished-product specs, and SOPs for new formulations.
- Partner with QC/QA on release specifications and method development.

Regulatory & Compliance (technical)

Ensure formulations comply with applicable regulations (CDSCO/BIS for India, plus target-market norms like EU/US where relevant) ingredient limits, restrictions, and technical labeling inputs.

Uphold clean-formulation standards (paraben-free, sulfate-free, cruelty-free, pregnancy-secure) while keeping products effective.

Prepare and maintain technical documentation supporting product claims and safety.

What We're Looking For

Experience

3+ years of hands-on formulation/NPD experience in skincare, personal care, or cosmetics R&D; from a brand, contract manufacturer, or ingredient house.

A real track record of taking products from concept to launch. (We care more about depth of formulation skill than a specific number of years — genuinely strong candidates are encouraged to apply.)

Technical Skills

Deep, practical knowledge of emulsion science, surfactant systems, actives, preservatives, and rheology modifiers.

Strong grasp of stability, compatibility, and preservative-efficacy protocols.

Familiarity with cosmetic ingredient regulations and INCI nomenclature.

Comfort with lab instrumentation (pH meter, viscometer/rheometer, homogenizer, stability chambers, etc.).

Ability to read scientific/ingredient literature and translate it into formulation decisions.

Bonus: experience formulating with natural/plant-based or protein-based actives.

📌 NPD Research Scientist Skincare (Coimbatore)
🏢 Valarr.io
📍 Coimbatore