Advisor, Physicochemical Properties and Compound Quality

Key Responsibilities

• Physicochemical Property Characterization: Design and execute experiments to measure key physicochemical properties (e.g., solubility, pKa, logD/P, stability, Polar Surface Area) of new chemical entities (NCEs) and drug candidates in the early stages of discovery. These are either measured directly or via surrogate chromatographic methodology, such as SFC-MS or LC-MS.
• Holistic assessment of these properties in conjunction with other characterization data will guide decisions on SAR, bioavailability, future formulation, and drug delivery.
• LC-MS Method Development & Application: Assessing Critical Quality Attributes: Develop and optimize LC-MS methods for purity, identity, and stability analysis for a variety of pharmaceutical compounds, impurities, and potential drug candidates. Ensure method sensitivity, reproducibility, robustness, and speed of analytical methods to support the discovery timelines.
• Data Analysis & Reporting: Process and interpret complex chromatographic and spectrometric data to generate contextualized and actionable results. Present results and conclusions to cross-functional project teams and key stakeholders to enable rapid and reliable decision making.
• Documentation & Compliance: Maintain accurate and detailed laboratory notebooks and reports in accordance with internal company standards. Ensure proper documentation of experimental protocols, results, and any deviations or issues.
• Innovation & Continuous Learning: Stay current with advancements in analytical chemistry, LC-MS techniques, and drug discovery trends. Continuously identify opportunities to enhance laboratory efficiency, improve analytical techniques, and contribute to the scientific knowledge base. Demonstrate scientific rigor to develop new and novel experiments and techniques to enable and speed up the discovery pipeline.
• Cross-Functional: Effectively partner with chemists, pharmaceutical formulation scientists, ADME/DMPK scientists, computational scientists, and data scientists.

Qualifications

• Minimum: PhD in Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a closely related discipline with 5+ years of post-education hands-on experience with LC-MS, SFC-MS, LC-MS/MS, and physicochemical techniques in a small molecule pharmaceutical discovery environment.
• Preferred: In-depth proven track record determining physicochemical properties and driving cross-functional impact on drug design and development. Experience working closely with ADME/DMPK and providing contextualized results taken from analytical data in early drug discovery. Well versed in analytical data/results management. Extensive hand-on experience with nominal mass and high resolution LC-MS and SFC-MS instrumentation, including method development, optimization, and troubleshooting (Agilent, Waters, Shimadzu.). Expert in the broad range physicochemical properties and their relationship to critical success factors for medicinal chemistry projects. Deep understanding of chromatography and mass spectrometry theory and proven track record for creatively applying these to the laboratory environment. Well versed in ADME/DMPK testing strategies and the role of physicochemical properties in early-stage drug discovery. Proficiency with data analysis software such as MassLynx, ChemStation, Mestrelabs or similar. Demonstrated ability to apply data/information/results workflow enablers such as KNIME and state of the art AI tools. Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities. Excellent communication skills to effectively present data to both scientific and non-scientific stakeholders. Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary teams. High attention to detail and organizational skills to manage multiple projects simultaneously. High learning ability and adaptability. Ability to challenge status quo and to influence across organizations.