Principal Research Scientist, Lipid Chemistry

Role Summary

The Principal Research Scientist, Lipid Chemist for Non-Viral Delivery leads independent, high-impact research across multiple projects. This role focuses on design and synthesis of lipids within a project, providing expert scientific guidance and contributing to strategy and execution in lipid-based delivery research.

Responsibilities

• Design, synthesize and characterize novel lipids and lipid libraries with therapeutically relevant properties for LNP-mediated gene delivery.
• Design and perform sophisticated, technically challenging chemistry experiments, efficiently and independently.
• Distill complex data to clear hypotheses and set new experimental directions.
• Collaborate with CROs to enhance and accelerate lipid library construction, synthesis, analysis, and manufacturing.
• Identify broad implications of findings beyond the immediate experiment.
• Design, synthesize and characterize unique conjugation handles for targeted gene delivery.
• Make substantive conceptual contributions to project activities and scientific strategies.
• Maintain clear and complete ELN-based experimental records.
• Present and share results with the broader team and in cross-functional meetings.
• Coordinate patent and publication preparation.

Qualifications

• Demonstrates advanced judgement balancing technical feasibility and scientific opportunity/impact.
• Strong track record of developing medicinal chemistry approaches to design and synthesize novel lipid libraries.
• Exemplary skills in modern organic and medicinal chemistry, including data analysis, parallel library design and synthesis, structure-based design, and analytical/purification methods.
• Well oriented with lipid, LNP and non-viral gene delivery literature and progress.
• Discerns new, productive paths in experiments with regularity.
• Experience with bioconjugation strategies for proteins/peptides, antibodies, lipids, LNPs, oligonucleotides, and other biomolecules.
• Experience with analytical methods to characterize structures and purities (e.g., HPLC-CAD, LC/MS, NMR).
• Experience with purification techniques including RP, IEX, SEC, HIC, affinity, FPLC, and membrane filtrations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for technical documentation and presentations.

Education

• PhD (or equivalent) in chemistry or related science with 4–7 years of relevant post-doctoral experience, or
• Master’s degree with 7+ years of relevant experience, or
• Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years of relevant experience.