R&D Co-Op Student

IPEX is one of the North American leading providers of advanced plastic piping systems. Our mission is to shape a better tomorrow by connecting people with water and energy.

We have an exciting opportunity as a Research and Development (R&D) Co-op student for the Winter 2025 period for a 4 or 8-month term.

This role is based in our office in Mississauga, Ontario, and reports to the R&D Team Leader.

Do not miss the opportunity to join a broad family of people-centric professionals, thought leaders and rapid thinkers, entrepreneurs in spirit, and status quo fighters!

Job Summary

The R&D Group provides expertise in polymer formulation development, tests products to ensure conformance to various standards, troubleshoots failures in the field, and evaluates new ingredients as part of maintaining and managing IPEX’s product portfolio and competitive position in the market.

Principal Responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

• Contribute to the development of new/existing vinyl formulations
• Evaluate physical, mechanical, chemical thermal, and rheological properties of polymers including (but not limited to) PVC, CPVC, ABS, PE, PP, PVDF
• Assist in the sourcing of raw material ingredients through ingredient evaluation projects
• Participate in running extrusion and injection molding trials
• Use Analytical tools to suggest the root cause of product failures in the field
• Use Statistical Analysis tools to validate the significance of findings
• Write technical lab reports & present experimental findings to the team
• Maintain an up-to-date laboratory notebook while keeping track of project records through the use of Filemaker Pro databases
• Assist the R&D Group with 5S initiatives and maintaining a clean working environment

Qualifications & Experience

• Working towards a degree in Chemical Engineering, Nanotechnology Engineering, Bio-medical Engineering, OR an equivalent in Materials Science / Polymer Science
• Past co-op experience in a plastics industry / R&D environment would be highly preferred
• Experience with DOE. use of statistical tools such as Minitab would be an asset
• Ability to follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as required
• Team Player with excellent communication skills to complement strong problem-solving abilities
• Driven, structured, results-oriented with a positive & professional attitude

IPEX is committed to providing accommodations for people with disabilities throughout the recruitment process and, upon request, will work with qualified job applicants to provide suitable accommodation in a manner that takes into account the applicant’s accessibility needs due to disability. Accommodation requests are available to candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process for IPEX jobs. To request an accommodation, please contact HR at talentacquisition@ipexna.com