Product Developer / Product Development Specialist

About the role

As a Product Developer / Product Development Specialist in the Automotive segment, you will act as the regional technical product owner for assigned customers at our Pune plant, contributing to Continental’s growth plan in India.

Key responsibilities

• Develop products that meet market and customer demands.
• Lead and successfully complete technical development projects while managing quality, time and cost.
• Consult customers on product solutions in coordination with sales and design teams.
• Select and develop raw‑material suppliers together with the purchasing department.
• Execute lab trials to create new and improved formulations and products.
• Initiate and supervise production trials and customer processing investigations.
• Align closely with the product development team in Germany (Hanover).
• Cooperate with adjacent departments such as design, PPI, production, SCM, quality, test labs, purchasing, sales and customer technical service.

Required profile

• Master's degree in Chemistry or a related technical field such as polymer science or process engineering.
• Approximately three years of professional experience in chemistry, polymer production, polymer formulation or the textile industry.
• Experience with PVC chemistry and its applications is a strong advantage.
• Application‑oriented experience developing automotive interior‑trim products, preferably PVC or PUR based.
• Proven project‑management experience on major development projects.
• High interpersonal skills, resilience and the ability to lead project teams in a matrix organisation.
• Excellent language and intercultural skills for collaboration with contacts in Germany, North America and China.
• Experience in customer‑relation management focusing on technical consulting, acquisition success and launch‑project execution.

Required skills

• Chemistry
• Polymer science
• Process engineering
• PVC chemistry
• Polymer formulation
• Automotive interior‑trim product development
• Project management