Research Associate - Chemistry

Exthymic•San Diego, CA

17h

About The Position

Exthymic is an early-stage deep-tech startup working to make curative cell therapies more accessible through point-of-care manufacturing of patient-specific treatments. The Research Associate will contribute bench-level chemistry and materials research, focusing on synthesizing and characterizing functional surface polymers. The role is suited to a hands-on chemist who can troubleshoot incomplete or evolving protocols, iterate quickly, and maintain rigorous experimental records in a small-team environment. The position also supports broader chemistry and materials R&D through reagent preparation, equipment maintenance, ad hoc characterization, and regular technical summaries and team reviews. The role contributes to developing and refining SOPs as protocols mature, and to investigating deviations and out-of-specification results.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Chemistry, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
Hands-on laboratory experience in polymer synthesis, gained through an internship, co-op, or full-time role.
Working knowledge of polymer characterization techniques such as NMR, FTIR, and GPC, or equivalent techniques.
Demonstrated attention to detail in experimental design, data collection, and laboratory notebook documentation.
Comfort working in a fast-moving, early-stage environment with evolving requirements and limited precedent.
Collaborative, transparent, team-oriented, and mission-driven approach.

Nice To Haves

Experience with bioconjugation or self-assembled monolayer chemistry.
Familiarity with bioconjugation strategies, including click chemistry.
Experience in a GMP-, GLP-, or ISO-regulated laboratory environment.
Experience with data analysis tools such as Mnova, Excel, Python, or JMP for processing characterization data.
Experience with structure-drawing tools such as ChemDraw.
Experience in an early-stage startup or academic research lab with end-to-end ownership of experiments.
Interest in cell therapy, biomedical device development, or biomanufacturing.
Experience with various polymerization methodologies.

Responsibilities

Synthesize and iterate on functional surface polymers at bench scale, adjusting functional group composition, monomer ratios, reaction conditions, and post-synthesis modifications to meet performance specifications.
Characterize polymers using NMR, FTIR, GPC, or equivalent techniques to assess structure, molecular weight, and dispersity.
Track and report polymer metrics, including batch-to-batch coefficient of variance against defined acceptance criteria.
Maintain accurate laboratory notebooks and electronic records, and contribute to drafting and revising SOPs.
Flag deviations and out-of-specification results promptly and participate in root cause investigations.
Support senior scientists with reagent preparation, equipment maintenance, and ad hoc characterization tasks as priorities evolve.
Contribute to internal technical summaries and regular team reviews.