Scientist III

Job Description

Job Summary:

• The Organic Chemist / Scientist will play a critical role in the Fatty Acid project by developing, optimizing, scaling, and documenting synthetic and purification processes for priority lipid and fatty-acid-related raw materials used to support cell-culture media production.
• The role will focus initially on fatty acids and lipids, with potential expansion to other priority materials.
• The scientist will apply strong multi-step organic synthesis, lipid chemistry, purification, and analytical characterization skills to establish robust processes that meet internal raw-material specifications and are suitable for scale-up and transfer to manufacturing.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design, plan, and independently execute laboratory experiments for synthesis and process development of fatty acids, glycerides, phospholipids, and related lipid molecules.
• Develop and optimize synthetic routes for priority materials, including fatty acids and lipids, with emphasis on yield, purity, reproducibility, scalability, and raw-material availability.
• Develop and optimize purification strategies for intermediates and final products using normal-phase and reverse-phase chromatography, preparative HPLC/Product chromatography, crystallization, extraction, precipitation, and other appropriate techniques.
• Characterize starting materials, intermediates, impurities, and final products using HPLC, LC-MS/MS or MS, NMR, FT-IR, UV/VIS, ELSD/CAD, and other applicable analytical techniques.
• Investigate impurity profiles and troubleshoot synthesis, purification, stability, and recovery issues that could prevent materials from meeting internal specifications.
• Perform feasibility studies using lower-purity or alternate-source starting materials and define process conditions required to achieve Client product quality.
• Support scale-up from laboratory development to gram/hundreds-of-gram scale and develop processes suitable for transfer to Rockford manufacturing operations.
• Partner with Analytical Development to establish or refine purity and identity methods and ensure analytical methods are fit for process-development decisions.
• Support preparation of material for internal evaluation, packaging/formulation activities, process validation, and manufacturing transfer as required by the project.
• Write experimental protocols, development reports, batch/process instructions, technical summaries, and documentation supporting testing, validation, and production.
• Maintain complete and accurate laboratory records and ensure traceability of experimental conditions, calculations, raw data, observations, deviations, and conclusions.
• Work cross-functionally with R&D, Analytical, Operations, Quality, Procurement/Sourcing, and project-management teams; communicate technical results, risks, recommendations, and project status to stakeholders.
• Adhere to departmental quality systems, chemical hygiene, EHS requirements, and safe laboratory practices.

Education & Experience:

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Sciences, or a closely related scientific discipline; Bachelor’s degree with substantial directly relevant industrial synthetic chemistry experience may also be considered.
• Strong hands-on experience in organic synthesis, reaction optimization, and multi-step synthesis.
• Demonstrated experience with purification of complex organic molecules using chromatography and other preparative purification techniques.
• Hands-on experience interpreting HPLC, LC-MS/MS or MS, NMR, and FT-IR data for reaction monitoring, identity confirmation, purity assessment, and impurity troubleshooting.
• Experience documenting experimental work in a manner suitable for process development, technology transfer, and regulated or quality-controlled environments.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to independently troubleshoot reactions and purification processes and design efficient experiments to resolve technical problems.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively in a cross-functional project team.
• Excellent written, verbal, data-presentation, and technical communication skills.