UI - Senior R&D Associate

Job Title: UI - Senior R&D Associate

Location: Mumbai HURC

About Unilever International:

Unilever International (UI) is Unilever’s White Space and Growth Engine, focused on creating new business opportunities beyond the company’s established markets and channels. With a turnover of over €1.4 billion, UI is one of Unilever’s fastest-growing and most profitable business units, operating with an entrepreneurial, agile, and innovation-led mindset.

UI identifies and unlocks untapped growth opportunities by taking Unilever’s iconic brands into new geographies, new channels, and new consumers. Acting as internal entrepreneurs, UI introduces brands such as Dove, Lux, Lifebuoy, Rexona, TRESemmé, Vaseline, Close UP, Pepsodent, Signal into high-potential markets and white-space geographies, including Korea, Mongolia, Pacific Islands, and other emerging growth regions.

Beyond geographic expansion, UI pioneers growth through non-traditional and rapidly evolving channels, including E-commerce, Health & Beauty, Discounters, Travel Retail, and Institutional Sales, tough Geographies etc. The business also serves overseas diaspora communities, bringing trusted home brands to consumers around the world while building entirely new market opportunities for Unilever.

What makes UI unique is its speed, agility, and start-up mindset within a global organization. Teams work across multiple categories, markets, and functions, often managing highly complex projects with accelerated timelines. Employees are empowered to challenge conventions, take ownership, and drive end-to-end delivery of innovations that create meaningful business impact.

For R&D professionals, UI offers an exciting opportunity to work on global innovation, market-first launches, formulation development, scaling up technologies across diverse manufacturing networks, and solving consumer needs across varied cultural and regulatory landscapes. The role requires a high degree of collaboration, adaptability, and entrepreneurial thinking to successfully bring innovations to life across the world.

At UI, we don't just follow growth—we create it. Through innovation, speed, and an intrapreneurial spirit, UI continues to open new frontiers for Unilever brands and consumers globally.

Job Responsibilities

• Identify and deploy optimized oral care formulations across markets, balancing efficacy (whitening, sensitivity, gum care), consumer preferences, cost targets, and regulatory compliance.

• Lead oral formulation development and prototyping in close partnership with GDC/RDC, ensuring OTIF delivery for exclusive UI oral projects (toothpaste, mouthwash, whitening formats).

• Partner with UI RA to enable timely regulatory approvals (fluoride levels, active systems, claims substantiation) across key markets.

• Develop strong oral care claims, demos (whitening, cavity protection, sensitivity relief), and social-first content aligned to consumer benefits and project needs.

• Leverage oral category expertise, demo frameworks, and KBS toolkit to adapt global technologies effectively within UI.

• Generate and implement cost optimization initiatives (base formulation, actives, flavours) in collaboration with BGs, aligned to R&D governance.

• Drive key oral R&D deliverables including PC/oral strategy, trend scouting (natural, whitening, therapeutic), innovation OTIF, and claims pipeline.

• Execute lab pilot batches for oral NPDs and ensure seamless scale-up, technology transfer, and factory readiness.

• Engage closely with factories to support oral launches, MPT trials, and process optimization.

• Collaborate with GDC and CDC teams to align on oral mix design, active systems, and deployment requirements.

• Leverage digital tools and data platforms to independently extract global oral R&D insights and benchmark formulations.

• Ensure timely implementation of regulatory updates (fluoride, CMRs, banned/restricted ingredients) across oral mixes and sourcing units.

• Drive rigor in oral project delivery through structured risk assessment, safety, and quality compliance.

• Execute projects aligned to best practices while proactively managing stakeholders through clear, data-driven updates.

Skills Required:

• Proven experience in Oral Care formulation development and scale-up, with a strong understanding of end-to-end product development.

• Passion for innovation and openness to explore new technologies, formats, and growth opportunities.

• Social-first mindset with capability to develop compelling claims, demonstrations, and knowledge-building (KB) assets.

• Hands-on and flexible approach to support lab, pilot, and scale-up batches as required.

• Willingness to travel to manufacturing sites, markets, and project locations.

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across multiple countries, clusters, and cross-functional teams.

• Agile, proactive, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, global environment.

Qualifications & Experience: Master's in science stream with 5-8 years of experience. At least 50% experience in oral is preferred.