Paint Engineer (Paint Materials / New Color & Material Launch)

Location	Georgetown, KY — 100% Onsite (steel-toe boots required)
Duration	12-Month Contract (Potential Extension)
Schedule	Monday–Friday
Travel	~30% — Mexico and Canada
Overtime	~20%
Education	Bachelor’s degree (Engineering field or related)

About This Role

A leading automotive manufacturer’s Paint Department is seeking a passionate Paint Engineer focused on paint application and production implementation. You will lead new paint material introductions for automotive production, support new model color launches, and manage the transition of materials from lab development to mass production. Reporting to the Materials Manager, you will independently manage the development and implementation of new materials, colors, and technologies for both the Body Paint and Bumper Paint departments — leading trials, process controls, scale-up, and material performance improvements. Note: pure laboratory or R&D roles without production or manufacturing exposure will not be a fit.

Responsibilities

• Manage area project schedules for new material trials, new model paint trials, cost reduction, and material performance improvements
• Lead planning, evaluations, and implementations for new colors and new materials in the Body Paint and Bumper Paint shops
• Lead lab workability and on-line testing for new materials
• Establish necessary process controls and parameters for new materials/technologies in a cross-functional environment
• Lead materials-related problem-solving efforts across multiple divisions as necessary
• Lead cost-per-unit (CPU) impact analysis for new materials
• Assess the environmental impact of new materials/technologies

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering field, or related experience
• 3+ years of project management working across multiple functions
• 2+ years in color and appearance evaluations
• 1+ years in paint design
• Hands-on experience in a paint shop or automotive manufacturing environment (pure lab/R&D without production exposure is not a fit)
• Strong understanding of paint application processes, especially topcoat
• Exposure to production launch, scale-up, or change management
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel for analysis, PowerPoint for reporting); ability to work in cross-functional teams
• Preferred: degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Engineering, or Materials Science; automotive paint production engineering; paint application / lab workability evaluation

Required Skills

• New color and paint material introduction and production launch for automotive manufacturing
• Paint application process expertise, especially topcoat
• Color and appearance evaluation and paint design
• Lab workability and on-line testing of new materials
• Establishing process controls and parameters for new materials/technologies
• Cross-divisional materials problem-solving
• Production launch, scale-up, and change management
• Cost-per-unit (CPU) impact analysis and environmental-impact assessment
• Cross-functional project management of area schedules
• *Software / platforms:* Microsoft Excel (analysis), Microsoft PowerPoint (reporting/presentations)