Scientist I, Chemistry (Contract)
About The Position
Pliant is seeking a PhD organic chemist for a 9-month contract to prepare experimental sections for patent applications. Using electronic lab notebook (ELN) records, original chemists’ notes, and analytical data, the Scientist will convert completed synthetic work into accurate, consistent, patent-ready procedures and characterization data. This is a desk-based role with no laboratory work, working closely with medicinal chemists and patent counsel. The position is 40 hours per week, reports to the SVP, Research, and is hybrid, requiring three days per week at Pliant’s South San Francisco location. The hourly rate is $68–$75, with individual pay potentially varying based on job-related skills, experience, work location, and relevant education or training.
Requirements
- PhD in Organic Chemistry or a closely related field.
- Zero to two years of postdoctoral or industry experience.
- Demonstrated experience writing experimental procedures and characterization data, such as for a dissertation, publication supporting information, or patent applications.
- Strong ability to interpret ¹H and ¹³C NMR, LCMS, and HRMS data and verify consistency with a proposed structure, including stereochemistry.
- Working knowledge of multistep synthesis and common reaction types sufficient to identify errors in reagents, equivalents, yields, or workups.
- Proficiency with ChemDraw, Microsoft Word, and Excel.
- Exceptional attention to detail and ability to check large volumes of data accurately.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to track hundreds of compounds across multiple documents and deadlines.
- Proactive communication skills, including raising gaps early and asking chemists precise, easy-to-answer questions.
- Prior experience preparing experimental sections or examples for composition-of-matter patent applications.
- Familiarity with patent structure and terminology, including examples, general procedures, Markush structures, and claims, and with written description and enablement.
- Experience with ELN and chemistry informatics tools, such as Scilligence, D360, or ChemDraw/ChemOffice.
- Experience organizing large data sets in Excel, including lookups and data validation.
Nice To Haves
- Medicinal chemistry experience, ideally with heterocyclic, peptidomimetic, or other drug-like small molecules.
Responsibilities
- Write clear, reproducible, patent-format experimental procedures for intermediates and final compounds from ELN entries and original chemists’ notes.
- Draft general procedures and synthetic schemes, and map each example to the correct general method.
- Compile and verify characterization data, including ¹H/¹³C NMR, LCMS, HRMS, and chiral HPLC, and format data strings consistently.
- Check structures against their data, confirm NMR assignments, masses, and stereochemistry, and flag discrepancies.
- Generate and verify chemical names, such as IUPAC names using ChemDraw, and maintain consistent compound, example, and intermediate numbering.
- Build and maintain compound tables cross-referenced to internal compound IDs, ELN references, and biological data tables.
- Track the status of examples across multiple applications and maintain an audit trail of changes.
- Work with medicinal chemists to resolve gaps or inconsistencies in records and with patent counsel to meet drafting and filing deadlines.
- Handle compound and invention information under strict confidentiality.
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What This Job Offers
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
