Technical Ink Manager
2 days ago
Rochester
Beyond TalentEdge has a direct hire opportunity for a Technical Ink Manager. Our client is a leading Digital Imaging company in Rochester. This role serves as the central interface between OEM ink suppliers, internal R&D, Sales, Service, and Applications teams, ensuring inks remain a differentiated, high-performance, and compliant component of equipment solutions. This position owns ink quality, performance, and regulatory integrity and serves as the subject-matter expert for all ink-related technical, commercial, and operational matters. Responsibilities: • Lead ink supplier relationships and coordinate with EU R&D partners, serving as the primary technical contact for ink specifications, performance standards, and compliance requirements, • Define ink development priorities, including new formulations, reformulations, and product lifecycle transitions aligned with customer needs and equipment roadmaps, • Support pricing, supply, and contract discussions with ink vendors to ensure alignment with cost targets, volume expectations, and performance standards, • Establish and maintain ink performance standards across all ink families, including color accuracy, adhesion, durability, jetting behavior, and substrate compatibility, • Own escalated ink quality, batch, or performance issues, driving structured root cause analysis, corrective actions, and proactive customer communication, • Benchmark inks against competitive alternatives to identify performance gaps and continuous improvement opportunities, • Serve as the escalation point for ink-related technical issues in support of Service and Applications teams, • Partner with Sales and Marketing to position inks as a competitive advantage in the equipment sales process, • Develop and maintain technical documentation and sales enablement materials, including performance data, compliance documentation, and application guidance, • Deliver targeted training to Sales and channel partners, • Ensure all ink products meet applicable regulatory, safety, and certification requirements, including food contact, VOC, and chemical compliance standards, • Proactively manage regulatory changes and component updates with suppliers to prevent field disruption, • Maintain accurate, current, and accessible technical and regulatory documentation for internal teams and customers, • Participate in ink governance and review forums to track quality metrics, open issues, development projects, vendor performance, and roadmap alignment, • Provide technical input on emerging applications, substrates, and market trends, • Support ink product lifecycle decisions, including product introductions, optimizations, phase-outs, and customer transition planning Desired Skills and Qualifications: • Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Print Technology, or a related technical field, • Five or more years of experience in digital UV inkjet, ink or materials development, or OEM printing equipment environments, • Demonstrated experience leading external supplier or technology partner relationships in a technical capacity, • Proven ability to navigate OEM and customer relationships, • Strong understanding of UV inkjet systems, ink chemistry, printhead behavior, and curing technologies, • Working knowledge of color management, print quality metrics, and substrate compatibility, • Familiarity with ink-related regulatory and compliance standards Salary: $80,000 – $140,000 “Beyond TalentEdge is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of Beyond TalentEdge to provide equal opportunity in employment and conditions of employment to all individuals regardless of age, race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, veteran or military status, disability, pregnancy-related condition, predisposing genetic characteristics, genetic information, marital status, familial status, prior arrest, domestic violence victim status, non-job related convictions, participation in lawful activities outside of our workplace, or any other status protected by law.”