: LABORATORY MANAGER

Company: Stacwell Rubber Pvt. Ltd.

Location: KesnandWagholi, Pune, Maharashtra

Industry: Rubber Components Manufacturing – Aerospace, Defence, Navy, Railway, Oil & Gas, Nuclear, Healthcare, Food & Drinking Water, Chemical, and Renewable Energy

Department: Laboratory / R&D; / Quality Assurance

Position: Laboratory Manager

Reports To: Plant Head / General Manager

Functional Coordination With: Quality Manager / Production Manager / Commercial Manager / Purchase Manager

1. JOB SUMMARY The laboratory manager will be responsible for leading the laboratory, rubber formulation, material testing, product qualification, and technical validation activities at Stacwell Rubber Pvt. Ltd.

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Rubber Formulation & Compound Development

- Design, develop, and optimize rubber formulations based on customer requirements and application conditions.
- Develop new rubber compounds for aerospace, defense, railway, oil & gas, and other critical applications.
- Review customer specifications, drawings, technical requirements, and applicable standards before formulation development.
- Select appropriate polymers, fillers, plasticizers, curing systems, additives, and other ingredients.
- Develop formulations considering hardness, tensile strength, elongation, compression set, temperature resistance, aging, chemical resistance, and other application requirements.
- Conduct laboratory trials and compound optimization.
- Coordinate with production for scale-up of laboratory formulations to production batches.
- Maintain formulation records, revision history, and technical documentation.
- Support cost optimization without compromising required product performance.

B. Laboratory Management

- Manage day-to-day laboratory operations and testing activities.
- Plan and prioritize laboratory testing based on production schedules, customer requirements, and development activities.
- Supervise laboratory technicians and technical staff.
- Ensure proper operation, maintenance, and availability of laboratory equipment.
- Maintain laboratory discipline, 5S, and workflow efficiency.
- Establish and maintain laboratory testing procedures and work instructions.
- Ensure proper identification, handling, storage, and traceability of samples.
- Ensure compliance with laboratory safety requirements.

C. Rubber Material & Product Testing

- Raw rubber materials
- Chemicals and ingredients
- Rubber compounds
- Semi-finished products
- Finished rubber components
- O-rings, seals, gaskets, and other critical rubber products

D. Quality Assurance & Compliance

- ISO 9001
- AS9100
- ISO/IEC 17025
- NADCAP laboratory/customer requirements, where applicable
- ASTM standards
- ISO standards
- SAE standards
- DIN standards
- Indian Standards
- Customer-specific specifications and test methods

E. Calibration & Laboratory Equipment Control

- Prepare and maintain the laboratory calibration plan.
- Ensure timely calibration of all measuring and testing equipment.




- Maintain calibration certificates and records.
- Coordinate preventive maintenance and servicing of laboratory equipment.
- Verify equipment functionality before use.
- Identify equipment requiring repair, replacement, or external calibration.
- Ensure no expired or out-of-calibration equipment is used for product acceptance testing.

F. Documentation & Technical Reporting

- Certificate of Analysis (COA)
- Test reports
- Material approval reports
- Validation reports
- Compound development reports
- Qualification reports
- Laboratory records
- Calibration records
- Customer technical reports
- Audit documentation
- Test method documentation
- Formulation records
- Trial and development reports

Ensure complete traceability of raw materials, formulations, batches, samples, and test results.

G. Research & Development

- Develop new rubber compounds based on customer/application requirements.
- Conduct laboratory trials and validation testing.
- Optimize existing formulations for performance, quality, and cost.
- Study material performance and identify improvement opportunities.
- Support new product development activities.
- Coordinate with Production and Quality during product/process trials.
- Support transfer of approved formulations from laboratory to production.
- Maintain technical knowledge of new rubber materials, additives, and technologies.

H. Customer & Product Qualification Support

- Understand customer technical specifications and testing requirements.
- Coordinate customer-specific testing and qualification programs.
- Support product approval and qualification activities.
- Participate in technical discussions with customers when required.
- Support PPAP, FAI, and other customer documentation requirements.
- Prepare technical evidence for customer approvals.
- Ensure customer-specific test methods are correctly implemented.

I. Team Management & Development

- Lead and supervise laboratory personnel.
- Allocate daily laboratory activities.
- Monitor employee performance and discipline.
- Train laboratory personnel on testing methods, equipment, and safety.
- Develop technical competency of laboratory staff.
- Conduct skill-gap analysis and arrange technical training.
- Ensure adequate manpower coverage for laboratory activities.

3. REQUIRED TECHNICAL SKILLS

- Rubber formulation and compound design
- Natural and synthetic rubber systems
- Rubber chemicals and additives
- Vulcanization and curing systems
- Rubber mixing processes
- Open mill / two-roll mill operations
- Internal mixing process knowledge
- Rubber testing and characterization




- Product qualification and validation
- ASTM / ISO / SAE / DIN standards
- Aerospace rubber requirements
- Customer-specific specifications
- Calibration and laboratory management
- Root Cause Analysis
- CAPA
- FMEA
- SPC
- Problem-solving techniques
- Technical documentation and traceability

4. EDUCATIONAL

Essential:

B.E./B.Tech in any relevant discipline such as

- Rubber Technology / Rubber & Chemical Technology
- Polymer Engineering / Polymer Technology
- Chemical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering

5. EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Assistant Lab Manager

5–8 years of relevant experience in: Rubber formulation Rubber testing Laboratory operations Compound development/product qualification

Lab Manager

8–15 years of relevant experience in: Rubber formulation and design Rubber testing laboratory Compound development Product qualification and validation Technical customer support/laboratory/team management

Candidates with strong experience in aerospace rubber, sealing products, and critical applications will be preferred.

6. PREFERRED INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Experience in one or more of the following industries will be preferred:

- Aerospace rubber components
- Aviation sealing systems
- Defense rubber products
- Navy applications
- Railway rubber components
- Oil & gas sealing products
- Nuclear applications

7. AEROSPACE & CRITICAL INDUSTRY RESPONSIBILITIES For aerospace and other critical applications, the lab manager shall:

- Ensure compliance with applicable AS9100 requirements.
- Maintain complete material and product traceability.
- Support NADCAP and customer audit requirements where applicable.
- Maintain strict control of laboratory records and technical documentation.
- Ensure controlled handling of critical materials and samples.
- Support FAI and product qualification requirements.
- Ensure validation and qualification testing is completed as per approved specifications.
- Maintain appropriate revision control of customer specifications and test methods.
- Ensure contamination control and proper laboratory housekeeping.
- Support customer-specific requirements for aerospace and critical applications.

8. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

Performance will be monitored through measurable indicators, including:

1. Number of recent rubber formulations developed.
2. Number of formulations successfully qualified.
3. First-time right laboratory testing.
4. Laboratory test accuracy and reliability.
5. On-time completion of testing and reports.
6. Customer qualification success.
7. Reduction in product rejection.
8. Reduction in customer complaints.
9. Calibration compliance.
10. Laboratory audit compliance.
11. Implementation of process/product improvements.
12. Reduction in formulation development time.
13. Successful transfer of laboratory formulations to production.
14. Laboratory team skill development.
15. Cost optimization through formulation improvement.

📌 Laboratory Manager, Rubber (Pune)
🏢 Stacwell Rubber
📍 Pune