Color Development Engineer

About the Role

We are seeking a passionate, highly motivated Paint Engineer to drive our new color development process from concept to reality. This role is uniquely positioned at the intersection of laboratory innovation and high-volume manufacturing. You will specialize in advanced coatings, synthesizing materials in the lab to understand how chemicals bond, evaluating workability, and scaling those processes up for successful mass-production launches.

The ideal candidate has strong hands-on experience in an automotive paint shop or manufacturing environment and possesses the project management skills necessary to lead cross-functional trials.

Key Responsibilities

• New Color & Material Launch: Lead the planning, evaluation, and implementation of new colors and advanced coatings for both body and bumper applications.
• Lab to Mass Production Transition: Synthesize materials in the lab to analyze chemical interactions, conduct paint lab workability evaluations, and successfully scale up the process for mass production.
• Process Controls & Testing: Establish necessary process controls, parameters, and on-line testing protocols for new materials in a production environment.
• Project Management: Manage project schedules for new material trials, new model paint trials, cost reductions, and material performance improvements.
• Problem Solving & Collaboration: Lead materials-related problem-solving efforts and collaborate across multiple divisions and cross-functional teams.
• Impact Analysis: Evaluate Cost Per Unit (CPU) impacts and assess environmental impacts for all new materials and technologies.

Position Requirements (Must Haves)

• Hands-On Manufacturing Experience: Direct experience in a paint shop or automotive manufacturing environment. Pure laboratory or R&D roles without scale-up or production exposure will not be considered.
• Process Knowledge: Strong understanding of paint application processes, with a heavy emphasis on topcoat and coatings specialization.
• Project Management: 3+ years of experience managing project schedules across multiple functions, including exposure to production launches, scale-ups, or change management.
• Technical Evaluations: 2+ years of experience in color and appearance evaluations, alongside 1+ years in paint design or lab workability testing.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering field or equivalent related technical experience.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Farmington Hills, MI, Kyyba has a global presence delivering high-quality resources and top-notch recruiting services, enabling businesses to effectively respond to organizational changes and technological advances.

At Kyyba, the overall well-being of our employees and their families is important to us. We are proud of our work culture which embodies our core values; incorporating value, passion, excellence, empowerment, and happiness, creates a vibrant and productive atmosphere. We empower our employees with the resources, incentives, and flexibility that they need to support a healthy, balanced, and fulfilling career by providing many valuable benefits and a balanced compensation structure combined with career development.

Kyyba is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Kyyba does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other b