Principal / Senior Principal Scientist - Spectroscopy

Responsibilities

• Advanced Method Development: Designs and validates novel analytical protocols for active and critical inactive ingredients, stabilizers, and sensory molecules using high-resolution LC/GC MS and NMR technologies.
• Crisis Chemistry & Forensic Analysis: Leads proactive monitoring and "Rapid Response" forensics for trace contaminants, conducts root-cause analysis on stability failures or manufacturing deviations to ensure safety amid supply chain shifts.
• Deformulation & Competitive Intelligence: Conducts competitive product teardowns to break down rival formulations to their base molecules, utilizes non-targeted analysis (NTA) workflows to structurally identify unknown components, and evaluates optimized ingredients from new suppliers to ensure absolute formulation parity.
• Claim Substantiation & Legal Defense: Partners with Marketing and Legal teams to transform analytical results into "Visual Science" for claim validation, ensuring all methods meet AOAC, USP, or ISO standards to remain legally unassailable.
• Lab 4.0 & Digital Transformation: Evaluates high-throughput tools, oversees the implementation of MS Imaging platforms, collaborates with Digital R&D to build automated data processing pipelines, feeds mass spec chemometric and big data into predictive Machine Learning models.
• Sustainable Packaging Interface: Develops standardized methodologies including ultra-trace extractables and leachables (E&L) screening to investigate chemical interactions between formulas and new sustainable or recycled packaging materials to ensure zero migration of impurities.

Qualifications

• PhD in Analytical, Organic, or Medicinal Chemistry
• 10 years of advanced laboratory experience
• Expert-level knowledge of High-Resolution LC-MS and GC-MS for content quantification and structure elucidation
• Technical proficiency in spectroscopic techniques including FTIR, Raman, and NMR as supporting tools for understanding molecular interactions within a formula
• Proven experience working within a GxP (GLP/GMP) regulated environment with a strong understanding of data "Chain of Custody" protocols

Preferred Qualifications

• Specialized experience in Microbiome Analytics, including metabolomics or analyzing bacterial metabolites in complex biological samples
• Demonstrated background in "Green Chemistry" analytics, such as assessing the biodegradability of surfactants or the purity of post-consumer recycled packaging
• Strong collaborative capacity to translate complex analytical big data into actionable business strategies for cross-functional stakeholders
• Proven ability to support IP activities and patent filings by providing detailed molecular characterization data for new entities