Vertex Summer Intern 2026, Process Chemistry, Technical Operations

Vertex Pharmaceuticals•Boston, MA

1d•$26 - $50•Hybrid

About The Position

Are you ready to make a real impact? At Vertex, our mission is to tackle serious diseases and to change lives, for the better, for the future. Our aim is to give you the skills, insights, and career guidance to be an important part of that future; to turn your potential into progression. As a Vertex intern or co-op, you’ll work on meaningful projects, collaborate with talented teams, and learn from industry leaders. We’re passionate about innovation, inclusion, and supporting your growth—inside and outside the lab. The Vertex Process Chemistry, Technical Operations internship program is a multi-week experiential training program for students currently working towards a graduate degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field of study. If you are passionate, collaborative, and growth-minded, an internship at Vertex will help you gain meaningful experience in our MSAT functional areas and serve as a launchpad for your career. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Technical Operations (Drug Substance) is seeking a Summer Intern to join our team in Boston, MA. The Technical Operations Drug Substance group is responsible for the commercial application of chemical processes to manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients, their intermediates and regulatory starting materials to support our commercial supply chain. An intern position in our team will offer a variety of opportunities such as understanding the commercial drug substance space; improving technical skills in the lab; handling chemicals; operating laboratory instruments; generating, manipulating and interpreting data using different software; and applying chemical knowledge towards designing experiments.

Requirements

Must be currently enrolled in a Master's or PhD program in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field of study.
Passion for scientific knowledge
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Highly motivated and possess an excellent work ethic
Full-time on-site in Boston, MA capacity required
Legal authorization to work in the United States, now and in the future. Please note that Vertex does not provide sponsorship for internships or entry level roles within this part of the organization.
You must be enrolled in an advanced degree program if graduating before August 2026
You must be available to work full-time, 40 hours per week from May – August 2026

Responsibilities

Develop project flow plan for the continuous improvement activity and execution
Search relevant literature precedent; apply principles in the literature to the project
Learn how to design an experiment to answer vital questions
Learn to perform small and mid-scale process support reaction using a broad range of techniques and equipment
Learn to perform screening type experiments in parallel
Apply different analytical controls to support experimental results; such as HPLC, TLC, GC, NMR, etc
Work cross-functionally with Technical Operation support teams to aid project completion
Prepare poster/written presentations summarizing work