Natural Products Chemist

About the role

The Molecular Platforms team in Corteva Agriscience plays a critical role in the discovery, development, and optimization of microbial and small molecule natural product active ingredients. We are seeking a Natural Products Chemist to join our multi-disciplinary team at Indianapolis Global Headquarters as we grow our pipeline of sustainable products.

What You'll Do

• Develop and execute isolation methods for natural products and metabolites from complex matrices (e.g., environmental, microbial, or plant) via chromatographic and other techniques.
• Elucidate the structure of complex natural products using a variety of spectroscopic and analytical techniques.
• Develop and optimize methods for the extraction, detection, and quantitation of secondary metabolites from microbial fermentation samples.
• Promote information sharing and collaborate with scientists across disciplines (e.g., synthetic chemists, biologists, data scientists, metabolomics scientists) in a team-oriented environment.

What Skills You Need

• Ph.D. in natural products/organic chemistry or a related field.
• Isolation of secondary metabolites or similar natural products from complex biochemical matrices.
• Broad range of separation techniques, including analytical and preparative scale chromatography (e.g. RP-HPLC, NP-HPLC, HILIC, Ion exchange, SEC, SPE, SFC).
• Structure elucidation of complex secondary metabolites using both 1D, 2D NMR techniques and mass spectrometry.
• Ability to design experiments and critically interpret results.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and presentation skills.
• Meticulous organization and attention to detail.
• A strong desire to make an impact on global food security.

Preferred Skills

• A background in natural products chemistry and knowledge of natural product biosynthetic pathways.
• Demonstrated success in isolation of many natural products in a collaborative environment.
• Experience with the isolation and characterization of microbial natural products.
• Experience in using density functional theory (DFT) methods for structure elucidation of natural products.
• Experience or familiarity with microbiology and fermentation techniques to enable natural product isolation.
• Familiarity with automation (e.g., liquid handing).

Benefits

• Numerous development opportunities offered to build your skills
• Be part of a company with a higher purpose and contribute to making the world a better place
• Health benefits for you and your family on your first day of employment
• Four weeks of paid time off and two weeks of well-being pay per year, plus paid holidays
• Excellent parental leave which includes a minimum of 16 weeks for mother and father
• Future planning with our competitive retirement savings plan and tuition reimbursement program