Kilo Lab Chemist

Company Name:Vertex Pharmaceuticals 
Type of Role: Contract position, Inside IR35 
Contract length:12 months 
Location:Oxford, Milton Park 
Department:Process Chemistry 
 
Looking for opportunities with purpose, impact and possibilities? Our client, Vertex, is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation. As they grow their pipeline at pace, they are strengthening their reputation for creating transformative medicines for people with serious diseases.  
 
The Process Chemistry Scientist is a highly motivated, scientifically driven and enthusiastic individual who will design and develop chemistry on a synthetic project while conducting kilo laboratory experiments to enable the delivery of compounds to support toxicology studies, human studies, and technical transfer information internally and to contract research organisations externally. This individual may develop new chemistry, improve existing chemistry and demonstrate such chemistries by delivering compounds at expected purity and batch size for the appropriate phase of development. 
 
KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:  

• Creative and skilled experimentalist 
• Must be able to demonstrate a track record of solving problems and creating new synthetic routes
• Work as part of a team creating and improving synthetic approaches to pharmaceuticals 
• Plan and execute synthesis from gram to kilogram scale 
• Work with the Kilo Lab Manager and Process Safety specialist to ensure the safe operation of chemistry 
• Drives scientific excellence of self and maintains an in-depth knowledge of practical and theoretical understanding of process chemistry 
• Training in the kilo lab will be provided, and the successful candidate must display a personal interest in the equipment, equipment ownership, techniques and strategies required to conduct chemistry on scale  
• Makes conceptual contributions to development activities and scientific strategies; introduces some new methodologies and solutions to overcome synthetic challenges and manufacturing obstacles 
• Maintain high quality records such as electronic lab books using ALCOA+ principles, compare diverse dataset to reach well-reasoned conclusions 

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE  

• PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry or MSc/MChem in Chemistry plus equivalent industrial experience in a synthetic laboratory 
• Strong interest in Process Development and scale up chemistry 
• Thorough academic grounding in the core elements of synthetic Organic Chemistry, with a track record of solving complex synthetic problems 
• Ability to work to deadlines in a fast-paced environment 
• Display a flexible approach with the ability and experience working at a variety of reaction scales and addressing shifting priorities 
• Basic understanding of analytical techniques (HPLC, GC, metal analysis, water determination, solid state analysis, 1H, 13C NMR and MS) 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to explain complex technical/scientific information to the wider team

Vertex is partnering with Talent Works to manage their international temporary job openings. If you are successful in your application, you will be employed by Talent Works to work on a temporary assignment at Vertex.