Senior Elastomer Chemist - Science and Engineering

Role details

The Senior Elastomer Chemist will serve as a subject matter expert for elastomeric and thermoplastic materials used in oil and gas products, with emphasis on downhole and surface sealing systems exposed to high pressure, high temperature, low temperature, sour gas, hydraulic fluids, produced fluids, completion fluids, rapid gas decompression, and high-pressure gas environments.

This role supports the full product lifecycle, including material selection, formulation review, seal design support, supplier qualification, manufacturing process control, qualification testing, field performance evaluation, failure analysis, customer support, and standards compliance. The candidate must connect polymer chemistry, compound formulation, processing, mechanical properties, and seal design requirements to practical oilfield product performance.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Lead selection, evaluation, and qualification of elastomers, thermoplastics, adhesives, bonded assemblies, backup materials, and other non-metallic sealing components for severe-service oilfield applications
• Review elastomer formulations and ingredient effects, including base polymer, fillers, plasticizers, curatives, accelerators, antidegradants, processing aids, reinforcing systems, and specialty additives; assess impact on hardness, tensile properties, elongation, modulus, tear resistance, compression set, chemical compatibility, aging resistance, RGD resistance, extrusion resistance, bonding, and sealability
• Provide material, design, and application guidance for O-rings, T-seals, packing elements, V-packing / chevron seals, bonded seals, backup rings, molded sealing elements, static seals, dynamic seals, and extrusion-resistant seal systems
• Develop and execute qualification plans for high and low temperature, high and low pressure, hydraulic, gas, completion fluid, produced fluid, thermal cycling, pressure cycling, long-term aging, and rapid gas decompression environments
• Apply relevant API, ISO, NORSOK, ASTM, NACE/AMPP, customer and internal requirements, and applicable ASTM test methods
• Lead rapid gas decompression / explosive decompression evaluations, including test planning
• Support manufacturing processes including mixing, milling, extrusion, compression molding, transfer molding, injection molding, bonding, post-curing, etc; troubleshoot cure state, voids, porosity, contamination, bonding failure, hardness variation, property drift, and batch-to-batch inconsistency
• Write and maintain material specifications, purchase specifications, test methods, qualification reports, failure analysis reports, supplier evaluations, engineering recommendations, and customer-facing technical summaries
• Lead failure analysis and root-cause investigations for elastomeric and thermoplastic components from field, qualification, manufacturing, and supplier issues; recommend corrective actions based on evidence
• Support supplier qualification, supplier audits, compound approval, change control, nonconformance resolution, deviation reviews, and API Q1 / quality system expectations related to traceability, documentation, and process control
• Mentor junior chemists, materials engineers, and lab technicians; provide senior technical input to engineering, R&D, product lines, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, operations, and customers.

Skills / Education

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related technical discipline
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience with elastomers, polymers, thermoplastics, or non-metallic materials, including significant experience in oil and gas, energy, chemical processing, aerospace, or other severe-service applications
• Demonstrated expertise in elastomer chemistry, polymer chemistry, compound formulation, material selection, material testing, material qualification, and structure-property relationships
• Direct experience with oilfield sealing systems such as O-rings, T-seals, packing elements, V-packing / chevron seals, backup rings, bonded seals, molded sealing components, static seals, and dynamic seals
• Working knowledge of rapid gas decompression / explosive decompression mechanisms and qualification approaches for RGD-resistant compounds and seal designs
• Familiarity with ASTM test methods for rubber, elastomers, and thermoplastics, including tensile, hardness, compression set, tear, aging, fluid immersion, low-temperature behavior, dimensional change, volume swell, and property retention testing
• Working knowledge of relevant oilfield and material standards, including API product standards, (such as API 11D1, API 19LH, API 14A, API 14L, API 19G, API Q1, etc), NORSOK M-710, ISO 23936, ASTM, and NACE/AMPP standards
• Strong understanding of elastomer and thermoplastic manufacturing methods.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, write clear technical reports, communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders, and make sound recommendations based on technical risk, product performance, quality, safety, and business impact
• Master's degree or PhD in Polymer Science, Polymer Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or related field
• 12 to 15+ years of experience with elastomers, thermoplastics, and non-metallic materials in oilfield or other severe-service applications
• Direct experience in upstream Oil and Gas services, including well construction, well completion, and production services and products
• Hands-on experience qualifying elastomers to NORSOK M-710, ISO 23936, API 6A Annex F, or equivalent RGD / sour gas qualification standards
• Experience with sour service and aggressive media such as H2S, CO2, hydrocarbons, brines, amines, methanol, completion fluids, drilling fluids, hydraulic fluids, and produced fluids
• Experience with analytical methods such as FTIR, DSC, TGA, DMA, SEM/EDS, rheometry, etc
• Experience with high-performance elastomers and thermoplastics such as HNBR, FKM, FEPM/Aflas, FFKM, EPDM, polyurethane, NBR, PEEK, PEK, PEKK, PPS, PTFE, PCTFE, PAI, PEI, UHMWPE, and related materials
• Experience participating in API, ISO, NORSOK, ASTM, NACE/AMPP, or other industry standards organizations; experience supporting API Q1 or ISO 9001 quality management systems preferred
• Customer-facing technical experience, including failure reviews, qualification reviews, material selection discussions, field issue support, and supplier technical reviews

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