Polymer Chemist

1d1 day ago

Kodiak Sciences

Palo Alto, US · Full-time · $170,000 – $230,000

About this role

Kodiak Sciences is a fast-growing clinical-stage biotechnology company with a strong focus in ophthalmology. The Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate Drug (ABCD) platform merges protein engineering, organic chemistry, and polymer chemistry at the core of the discovery engine. We seek a Polymer Chemist to join the Polymer Sciences Team, Department of Chemistry.

The candidate will use highly efficient organic chemistries and modern reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) techniques to synthesize high-performance functional polymers. This supports technology development in a dynamic, collaborative research environment focused on engineering a new drug delivery platform for ophthalmology applications. Hands-on experience in modern RDRP polymerizations and air-free synthesis techniques is essential.

Join a team passionate about developing new technologies that challenge current boundaries. Preference for experience driving commercial innovation, GLP/GMP, designed experimentation, statistics like Six-Sigma, and project management tools. The role involves organic chemistry techniques, including design and synthesis of functionalized monomers and polymeric material characterization.

Proactively maintain awareness of technical literature and external contacts to define new approaches and projects. Contribute to strategic inputs for R&D roadmap and future product plans. Deliver impactful results while meeting project timelines in a customer-centric manner.

Requirements

Hands-on experience in large-scale batch synthesis or scale-up using modern RDRP methods
Prior experience working with air- and moisture-sensitive substances using glovebox or Schlenk-techniques
Prior polymer and materials characterization experience in SEC/GPC, NMR, UV-Vis, FT-IR, MALDI-ToF
Experience with automation in polymer chemistry for high throughput formulation screening and development
Prior experience with polymer grafting, polymer end-group modification, and/or bioconjugate techniques
Prior experience with GMP/GLP, and other manufacturing quality and project management tools (e.g., Six-Sigma and DFMEA)

Responsibilities

Develop and optimize polymerization processes for up to 100g scale functional polymer synthesis
Support tech and process transfer of leading polymeric materials to development and CMC teams
Develop an automated synthesis system for high throughput formulation screening and validation
Design and execute DOEs to establish key polymer structure-property-performance correlations
Develop analytical techniques to characterize new polymers using SEC-MALS, DLS, NMR, viscosity and other relevant techniques
Summarize and report project results regularly with proper documentation and support intellectual property/patent filings
Maintain awareness of technical literature and proactively bring in new technology from external community
Follow guidelines for laboratory safety, training procedures and records according to company and industrial standards