Principal Scientist Oligonucleotide Process Development (Billerica MA)

EMD Serono Research & Development Institute•Billerica, MA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

This role is for a Principal Scientist in Oligonucleotide Process Development at EMD Serono, located in Billerica, MA. The company is seeking individuals who are passionate about science and technology to enrich people's lives through solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. The Healthcare purpose is to help create, improve, and prolong lives by developing medicines, intelligent devices, and innovative technologies in therapeutic areas like Oncology, Neurology, and Fertility. This role does not offer sponsorship for work authorization, and external applicants must be eligible to work in the US.

Requirements

PhD in Oligonucleotide Chemistry and relevant experience in a drug discovery/Process development environment.
At least 8 years of oligonucleotide synthesis experience in industry.
Experience with a variety of Oligonucleotide modalities (siRNAs, ASOs) and producing Lipids, Dyes, peptides and antibody conjugates.
Ability to analyze, interpret, and present data.
Current with scientific literature and understanding of the state of the art in oligonucleotide chemistry, purification, and screening strategies.
Expertise in state-of-the-art analytical techniques such as UPLC, HPLC, LC-MS and NMR.
Experience with DoE and QbD (Quality by design principles).

Nice To Haves

Strong laboratory skills in synthesis, purification, and characterization of Antibody-Oligo conjugate are preferred.
Hand on experience on Akta Synth and OP-100 to modify the protocols and strong familiarity with Unicorn software.
Excellent project/time management, and problem-solving skills.
Strong communication and people skills and the ability to thrive in a team and goal driven environment.
Proven track record of scientific contributions in oligonucleotide and conjugates research as evidenced by publications/presentations/patent applications and/or the identification of preclinical development candidates.

Responsibilities

Lead process development and synthesis strategies of ASOs, siRNAs and other synthetic modalities at 100 mg-5 g scale.
Identify process improvements for better yield, purity, turnaround times and lower cost of goods.
Work with both internal chemistry team and external CRO’s to generate innovative solutions to synthetic and drug design challenges within the context of oligonucleotide drug discovery projects.
Track progress against project timelines, generate regular status updates, and communicate progress and issues to management.