Scientist, Chemistry

At Element Biosciences, we are passionate about our mission to empower the scientific community with more freedom and flexibility to accelerate our collective impact on humanity. We have built a highly efficient product-driven organization where employees can learn, grow, and thrive in a challenging but encouraging environment. We are committed to scientific integrity, collegiality, honesty, objectivity, and openness.

We are seeking an experienced Scientist, Chemistry who will play a pivotal role in inventing new reagents for next generation DNA sequencing. This is an incredible opportunity for someone who is passionate about the discovery of new fluorescent dyes. We are looking for candidates with a solid background in the synthesis and purification of fluorescent dyes and conjugates. Experience with NMR, LCMS and excitation/emission spectra is a must. This role will report directly to the Head of Chemistry and is an onsite role based out of our San Diego headquarters.

If you possess the following and want to make a meaningful impact, we invite you to explore this role.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the synthesis and purification of fluorescent dyes, NHS esters, dye conjugates and energy transfer dyes
• Responsible for the synthesis and purification of nucleosides, nucleotides and reversible terminators
• Responsible for the synthesis and purification of water-soluble spacers and cleavable linkers
• Responsible for the scale-up of synthesis and purification of small molecules, macromolecules and complex bio-conjugates
• Responsible for QC assay development
• Proactively seek out new information in the literature and incorporate it into individual projects
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support R&D needs and provide assistance to other departments

Education and Experience:

• Advanced degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry or related field, with a strong background in synthetic chemistry
• Hands-on experience in designing and synthesizing novel dye scaffolds is strongly preferred
• Minimum 5 years’ experience with synthesis and HPLC purification (reverse phase and ion exchange) of small molecules, fluorescent dyes, dye conjugates, energy transfer dyes, nucleosides and nucleotides
• Must have experience characterizing fluorescent dyes, dye conjugates, energy transfer dyes ,nucleosides and nucleotides by NMR (1H, 31P, 19F, DEPTQ, HMBC, HSQC), LCMS, and excitation/emission spectra
• Must have a solid understanding of photophysical principles
• Must be a good lab citizen and work collaboratively with others
• Must have experience with SciFinder, ChemDraw and Mnova
• Experience in bioconjugation, assay development, photo(redox)chemistry, system integration is a plus

Physical Requirements:

• Frequently moves boxes weighing up to 20 pounds
• The position requires physical activity and the handling of chemicals. Candidates are required to follow the safety protocols and be familiar with personal protective equipment (PPE) while working in the laboratory environment

Location:

• San Diego, CA (on-site)

Travel: 

• Up to 5% or as needed

Job Type:

• Full-time/Exempt

Base Compensation Pay Range:

• $116,000 - $149,000

In addition to base compensation noted above, you will be eligible for stock options, discretionary annual bonus, no cost health insurance plans, 401k with company match, and flexible paid time off. 

 

Please note: Base compensation will depend on multiple factors, including geographic location, qualifications, and experience. 

 

We foster an environment such that all people are afforded the freedom to pursue their passions without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status or any other characteristics protected by law.