Role Overview

Vikram Resins and Polymers is a 40-year-old specialty chemical manufacturer headquartered in Bengaluru, producing unsaturated polyester resins, gelcoats, and a growing range of specialty polymer grades for India’s composites, infrastructure, and industrial markets. The business is entering a significant growth phase — expanding production capacity, adding new product lines, and professionalising its operations to serve a higher-value customer base.

The Shift Chemist is the owner of the shift. When you are on duty, you are responsible for everything that happens in the plant — the safety of the team, the integrity of the batch, the accuracy of the records, and the condition of the equipment. This is a hands-on role for someone who takes genuine pride in running a tight operation: someone who knows chemical process plant inside out, holds their team to a high standard, and understands that a properly handed-over shift is as important as a batch well-made.

This role reports to the Production In-Charge and works closely with the Technical Manager. The shift team consists of operators and helpers who the Shift Chemist is responsible for directing, coaching, and holding accountable.

Key Responsibilities

Safety, Quality & Compliance — The First Responsibility

This is the non-negotiable foundation of the role. Everything else depends on it being done right, every shift, without exception.

• Conduct a pre-shift walkthrough before commencing operations: check equipment condition, utility status, housekeeping, and the status of any open safety observations from the previous shift
• Enforce compliance with all plant safety procedures, work instructions, and PPE requirements among all shift team members — operators and helpers included. Compliance is not optional and is not the responsibility of someone else to enforce
• Identify and immediately report all incidents, near misses, unsafe conditions, and equipment abnormalities to the Production In-Charge — without delay and without filtering
• Conduct in-process quality checks at all defined stages of the batch; flag deviations before they progress, not after
• Adhere to approved manufacturing procedures and quality systems without improvisation; any departure from procedure must be authorised before it is implemented, not reported after the fact
• Maintain high standards of housekeeping in all production, storage, and laboratory areas throughout the shift; hand over a clean and organised working environment to every incoming shift — always
• Complete and sign a shift handover checklist at the end of every shift, confirming housekeeping status, equipment condition, batch status, and any pending safety items; the incoming Shift Chemist countersigns to acknowledge the handover

Raw Material Management

• Verify all raw materials against the approved batch formulation before charging: confirm identity, batch number, quantity, and physical condition
• Ensure all raw materials are accurately weighed and measured; do not proceed if any quantity is outside the approved range — reweigh, recheck, escalate
• Follow the prescribed charging sequence exactly as specified; variations in sequence or quantity require Technical Manager authorisation before implementation
• Prevent contamination, cross-contamination, and material mix-ups through correct labelling, segregation, and storage discipline at all times
• Monitor raw material consumption per batch and record all usage accurately; report discrepancies, unexpected variances, or shortages immediately and do not attempt to compensate without guidance
• Coordinate with the stores and procurement teams to flag material requirements in advance of production needs

Process Operations

• Operate and monitor all shift-critical process equipment: reactors, boilers, thermic fluid heaters, vacuum pumps, condensers, cooling systems, and associated utilities
• Maintain critical process parameters — temperature, pressure, vacuum, stirring speed, nitrogen purge, and reaction profile — within the approved ranges specified for each grade; deviations must be acted on immediately
• Monitor reaction progress through regular in-process sampling and testing (acid value, viscosity, colour, appearance) and take corrective action if parameters begin to drift, before they go out of specification
• Identify process deviations, equipment faults, and abnormal conditions promptly; initiate safe isolation or shutdown procedures where required and report to the Production In-Charge without delay
• Meet production targets within the shift without compromising product quality, safety, or equipment integrity
• Direct, supervise, and coach shift operators and helpers: assign tasks clearly, explain the reason and standard for each task, verify execution, and hold the team accountable for performance and discipline
• Identify skill gaps in the shift team and provide on-the-job coaching; escalate persistent performance issues to the Production In-Charge with specific observations, not general impressions

Documentation & Shift Handover

• Maintain Batch Manufacturing Records (BMR), logbooks, process records, and production reports accurately and contemporaneously — entries must be made at the time of observation, not reconstructed at the end of the shift
• Record all critical operating parameters, batch observations, equipment readings, deviations, and corrective actions taken during the shift; if it was not recorded, it did not happen
• Complete a formal, written shift handover at every shift end: communicate batch status, ongoing tasks, equipment condition, pending actions, and open safety items to the incoming Shift Chemist in writing and in person; verbal-only handovers are not acceptable
• Ensure the incoming shift team has complete, accurate information to continue operations without interruption or ambiguity
• Maintain all documentation to audit-ready standard at all times — not only when an audit is scheduled
• Support internal and external audits and documentation reviews as required

Required Qualifications

• M.Sc. or B.Sc. in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience in resin manufacturing, polymer processing, or specialty chemical process industries
• Demonstrated operational experience with reactors, boilers, thermic fluid heating systems, and vacuum systems
• Working knowledge of resin chemistry; experience with unsaturated polyester resins, gel coats, or related polymer chemistries is preferred
• Proficiency in relevant quality and safety testing methods: acid value, viscosity, appearance, and in-process checks
• Ability to operate independently as the responsible person on shift without requiring constant supervision
• Documentation discipline: entries must be clear, complete, and accurate; written English is required for all records
• Comfortable working in rotating shifts, including nights

What We’re Looking For

The qualification gets you in the room. What makes this role work is character and discipline.

• Safety-first mindset — not as a compliance requirement but as a personal standard; someone who would stop a batch rather than compromise a safety rule
• Execution discipline: follows procedures completely, not selectively; raises concerns before acting, not after; does not improvise where a procedure exists
• Attention to detail in parameter monitoring, material handling, and documentation — small errors in this role have large consequences
• People leadership: comfortable directing a team of operators and helpers, setting clear expectations, and holding people accountable without creating conflict
• Troubleshooting instinct: can identify what is going wrong and why, and knows when to act independently and when to escalate
• Growth mindset: willing to learn new grades, processes, and systems as the business expands and takes on more complex chemistry

What This Role Is NOT

This is not a role for someone who manages the shift from a distance or delegates safety and equipment troubleshooting to operators. The Shift Chemist is physically present, observant, and accountable for everything that happens on their watch. If you prefer individual contribution with no oversight of a team or multi-function processes, or need extensive supervision to perform, this role will not suit you.

How to Apply

Send your updated CV to contact@vikramresins.com with the subject line “Shift Chemist — Application.” Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Role Overview

A hands-on, execution-focused role with three complementary responsibilities: ensuring the quality and consistency of all production batches, providing laboratory support for ongoing R&D work under the direction of the Technical Manager, and owning VRP’s technical documentation systems. The successful candidate is analytically rigorous, detail-oriented, and — critically — digitally fluent. They will build and maintain the systems, templates, and databases that turn lab results into professional, auditable, customer-ready documentation. Paper-based recordkeeping is not acceptable in this role.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Control — Primary Function

• Test all incoming raw materials against approved specifications before release to production
• Perform in-process checks at defined production stages and release finished goods batches against internal specifications
• Generate accurate Certificates of Analysis (CoA) for all production batches; maintain CoA records and batch documentation
• Identify deviations from specification; raise non-conformance reports and coordinate corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) with production
• Coordinate with production team on quality-related troubleshooting and process consistency

Laboratory Support — Secondary Function

• Execute laboratory synthesis batches as directed and designed by the Technical Manager
• Conduct analytical testing on trial batches (FTIR, GC, viscosity, OH number, acid value, and other standard characterisation tests) and record results accurately
• Prepare samples for dispatch to external testing laboratories; coordinate receipt and filing of external test reports
• Assist with literature searches, reference data compilation, and preparation of technical reports as directed
• Maintain lab notebooks and experimental logs to a standard suitable for patent support documentation

Technical Documentation & Digital Systems — Distinct Responsibility

• Own the preparation and maintenance of all Technical Data Sheets (TDS) and Material Safety Data Sheets (TDS/MSDS) across VRP’s product range, ensuring they are accurate, professionally formatted, GHS-compliant, and updated when formulations or test data change
• Build and maintain a centralised, digital QC database: all batch results, CoAs, raw material test certificates, and external lab reports stored in a structured, searchable, auditable system — no paper-based primary records
• Design and manage Google Sheets or equivalent digital templates for batch tracking, test result logging, and trend monitoring across production runs
• Use available tools — including AI-assisted drafting, document automation, and database management — to improve the speed and consistency of documentation outputs
• Ensure all records are version-controlled and traceable: the right result linked to the right batch, the right grade, the right customer shipment, at all times
• Proactively flag when documentation systems need improvement; this person is expected to build better systems, not just maintain existing ones

Required Qualifications

• M.Sc. in Polymer Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, or Applied Chemistry
• 3–6 years of experience in QC and/or analytical laboratory roles in polymers, resins, coatings, or specialty chemicals
• Hands-on proficiency with standard analytical instruments: FTIR, GC-FID, viscometers, titration (OH number, acid value)
• Demonstrable experience with digital recordkeeping: structured spreadsheets, cloud-based document systems, or laboratory information management tools — not paper logbooks

What We’re Looking For

The chemistry qualification gets you in the room. What separates the right candidate is their relationship with technology and systems.

• Digitally native: comfortable with Google Workspace, spreadsheet-based data management, and learning new tools quickly; has used or is willing to use AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to accelerate documentation work
• Has produced professional customer-facing technical documents — TDS, MSDS, or equivalent — and takes pride in how they look, not just whether the numbers are correct
• Finds satisfaction in building systems that make future work easier, not just completing today’s task
• Execution-oriented and comfortable in a support role to a senior technical leader; takes direction on the science, owns the documentation
• Strong attention to detail — errors in CoAs or TDS documents are not acceptable and have commercial consequences