Senior Experienced Peptide Chemist

As a senior experienced peptide chemist you will, initially, play a major role in setting up and establishing the physical laboratory space as well as laying the foundations for excellent work practices and procedures going forwards. As such, in addition to possessing extensive practical laboratory experience specialising in peptide synthesis, you will also leverage your leadership and mentoring skills to aid the development of those around you, and ensure that a healthy culture of respect, politeness, professionalism, and scientific excellence is the bedrock upon which the culture of the laboratory is built. As the laboratory matures, responsibilities will include the day-to-day running and management of the space. You will take the lead role in the development and delivery of strategies for the synthesis and purification of complex and oftentimes challenging peptides. In addition, you will also collaborate with other specialist teams at CatSci, and other third parties, to contribute to multi-disciplinary cross-platform projects. Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Play a key role in setting up, and establishing a peptide synthesis laboratory
• Lead and manage the synthesis, purification, and delivery of synthetic peptides, including linear, cyclic, modified, conjugated, and other complex derivatives
• Develop a set of detailed procedures, SOPs, and other documentation for the synthesis, purification, and delivery of peptides to be used by the peptide synthesis team going forwards
• Assist in building a team of scientists who will, like yourself, be dedicated to delivering excellence in peptide synthesis and sciences
• Work to develop a culture of safe working practices and accompanying documentation for the laboratory
• Work closely with a team of analytical chemists to ensure a thorough and accurate characterisation of synthesised materials
• Undertake collaborative projects with colleagues in other teams to develop and deliver complex peptides and conjugates
• Keep accurate records of experimental procedures, workflow, data and reports in accordance with regulatory requirements and quality standards
• Develop methods and routine practices in the laboratory which seek to minimise environment harm
• Analyse and interpret data and present work in a clear and concise fashion at regular company meetings, to external collaborators, and to customers.
• Complete detailed analysis of the literature and established best practices for the preparation of relevant classes of peptides
• Stay up to date with recent advances in the field
  
  An ambitious team player who can conduct themselves in a polite, respectable, and professional manner when dealing with others
• Industrial experience in pharmaceutical chemistry of 5+ years and a scientifically relevant PhD (in synthetic chemistry, peptide chemistry, or a related discipline) or alternatively 8+ years industrial experience post-masters/bachelors
• Broad, hands-on experience in peptide synthesis and purification
• Experience in the use of techniques for the analytical characterisation of peptides including HPLC and Mass Spectrometry
• A commitment to safe working practices
• Ability to formulate and execute an experimental work plan
• Highly organised with an ability to manage multiple projects running in parallel
• A demonstrable ability to problem solve, to innovate, and to think laterally
• An ability to work independently, as part of a team, or across multidisciplinary cross-functional teams
• An ability to forge new collaborative partnerships and to work alongside third parties
• Ability to take accurate records of work carried out
• Ability to liaise and communicate effectively with a wide variety of internal and external contacts
• Excellent verbal, written, and numerical literacy skills
Desirable:
• Familiarity with GLP, GMP and/or GCLP
• Experience in the use of NMR for the characterisation of peptides and/or small molecules
• Past experience in strategies for conjugation of peptides to other biomolecules
• Biophysical analysis of peptides and/or proteins
• Expertise in the synthesis of oligonucleotides and/or PNA
• Experience with high-throughput assays and functional assays of peptides/proteins
• Experience working with peptide/protein array technologies
• Experience working with robotics and automation pipelines
  
  Company Benefits: 25 days holidays (increases with tenure) + private medical cover + life cover + pension scheme options + volunteering days + other enhanced company benefits.