Scientist I - Analytical testing

Responsibilities

• Execute method development, optimization, and troubleshooting work on LC-MS and HPLC-UV/DAD platforms under the direction of a Senior Scientist.
• Perform validation and verification experiments on compendial and in-house methods, following protocols designed with the senior team — including accuracy, precision, specificity, LOD/LOQ, linearity, and system suitability studies as applicable.
• Select and evaluate columns, mobile phases, sample preparation approaches, and detection parameters under guidance, developing increasing judgment over time.
• Troubleshoot chromatographic and instrument issues — poor peak shape, retention drift, sensitivity loss, baseline noise, carryover — and escalate appropriately when problems require senior input.
• Prepare mobile phases, reagents, standards, and samples with careful attention to technique, accuracy, and documentation.
• Execute bench chemistry techniques including titrations (acid-base, Karl Fischer, redox), UV/Vis spectroscopy, gravimetric analysis, and related classical methods.
• Maintain precise, accurate technique on balances, pipettes, glassware, and related lab equipment — recognizing that classical methods demand careful hands and attention to small details.
• Support compendial wet chemistry methods from USP, FCC, AOAC, and equivalent frameworks, including verification under ISO 17025.
• Contribute to sample preparation workflows that support both chromatographic and bench methods, including extraction, dilution, filtration, and derivatization as needed.
• Record all experimental work in Cambium Analytica's method development pipeline, following documentation standards for laboratory notebooks, data files, and versioned documents.
• Draft sections of controlled documents — test methods (TM), validation protocols (VP), validation reports (VR), and verification reports — for senior review and finalization.
• Analyze chromatographic and spectroscopic data using vendor software (ChemStation, MassHunter, Empower, or equivalent), and present results clearly to the senior team.
• Maintain audit-ready records — raw data, calculations, controls, deviations — that can withstand internal quality review and external accreditation inspection.
• Flag anomalies, out-of-specification results, and deviations promptly rather than assuming they will resolve themselves.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a closely related discipline. An M.S. is acceptable and welcome but not required.
• A minimum of 0.5–3 years of hands-on analytical chemistry experience in a laboratory setting (contract lab, pharmaceutical, dietary supplement, food testing, academic research lab, or equivalent).
• Hands-on experience with liquid chromatography, including both LC-MS and HPLC-UV/ DAD platforms — including sample preparation, instrument operation, method execution, and basic data interpretation.
• Proficiency with chromatography data systems such as ChemStation, MassHunter, Empower, or equivalent.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document experimental work clearly in laboratory notebooks and draft sections of technical reports.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, careful bench technique, and ability to follow complex written procedures precisely.
• Working familiarity with good laboratory practices and basic quality systems expectations.
• Preferred experience with wet chemistry and classical bench techniques, including titrations (acid-base, Karl Fischer, redox) and UV/Vis spectroscopy.
• Experience analyzing natural product matrices — dietary supplements, botanicals, functional foods, ingredients, or equivalent.
• Exposure to compendial methods (USP, FCC, AOAC) and an understanding of how compendial verification differs from full validation.
• Familiarity with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements, even at an introductory level.
• Experience with additional analytical techniques such as GC, ICP-MS, FTIR, or related instrumentation.
• Exposure to LIMS systems or electronic laboratory documentation tools.

About the Role

Cambium Analytica — an NSF company — is expanding its analytical laboratory operations in Traverse City, Michigan to support growth in dietary supplements, food and beverage, ingredients and botanicals, and cosmetics testing. The Scientist I — Chemistry is a hands-on R&D role contributing to that expansion, focused on executing analytical method development, optimization, validation, and verification work under the direction of a Senior Scientist.