Senior Synthetic / Process Chemist

With over 35 nationalities and a range of backgrounds represented in our Benevolent team, we aim to build an inclusive environment where our people can bring their authentic selves to work, be respected for who they are and the exceptional work they do. We welcome and actively encourage applications from all sections of society and are committed to offering equal employment opportunities regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental status, disability, age, citizenship, or any other basis. We see our diversity as an asset as we tackle challenging problems that bridge the gap between drug discovery and technology.

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The Role

We are looking for a lab-based synthetic / process chemist at Senior Scientist level. As a key part of our Chemical Sciences team, you’ll make important contributions across our Drug Discovery portfolio as programmes progress from Lead Optimisation through Candidate Selection and into Pre-Clinical & Clinical Development. You’ll be designing and developing new synthetic routes to deliver APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients), considering quality, safety, speed & scalability.

Based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge (UK), you will be working within a lab-based team supporting small molecule drug discovery and development. Working closely with drug discovery colleagues you’ll devise creative ways to develop novel medicines.

Primary Responsibilities

With a strong synthetic and/or process chemistry background you will work as a key contributor within cross-functional project teams to develop high-quality drug molecules to advance to clinical studies.
Key aspects of the role will be the synthesis of novel molecules using modern practical methods and synthetic route development considering quality, safety, speed, cost, environmental impact and scalability.
This will primarily be a lab-based role delivering scale-up activities on projects across the portfolio, then also engaging positively with external suppliers on synthetic process transfer and development.
We are constantly looking for new ways to improve the drug discovery process so you will have a proactive and positive problem-solving mindset allowing you to contribute strategically and implement ideas to drive new ideas forward.
Your safety is very important to us, so you’ll be expected to maintain a high standard of safety, and support others to do the same.

We are looking for someone with

A PhD or equivalent experience in synthetic organic chemistry, or a very closely related area.
Broad knowledge of synthetic organic chemistry and strong practical laboratory synthesis skills.
Industrial experience of current and emerging state of the art technologies and strategies within synthetic chemistry as applied to drug discovery & development.
You’ll have a strong ability to independently design experiments to address synthetic problems, utilising modern synthesis, purification & analytical equipment.
A collaborative working style with clear communication skills.

Nice to haves

Experience of chemical synthesis on g to kg scale with an understanding of associated challenges would be an advantage.

We share a passion for being part of a mission that matters, and we are always looking for curious and collaborative people who share our values and want to be part of our journey. If that sounds like a fit for you, hit the apply button and join us.

About us

BenevolentAI unites AI with human expertise to discover new and more effective medicines. Our unique computational R&D platform spans every step of the drug discovery process, powering an in-house pipeline of over 25 drug programmes. We advance our mission to reinvent drug discovery by harnessing the power of a diverse team, rich with different backgrounds, experiences, opinions and personalities. In our offices in London and New York and research facility in Cambridge (UK), we work in highly collaborative, multidisciplinary teams, harnessing skills across biology, chemistry, engineering, AI, machine learning, informatics, precision medicine and drug discovery.

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