Polymer Chemist

Kodiak Sciences is a fast-growing clinical-stage biotechnology company with a strong focus in ophthalmology. Our Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate Drug (ABCD) platform merges the fields of protein engineering, organic chemistry, and polymer chemistry and is at the core of our discovery engine. We are seeking a Polymer Chemist to join our Polymer Sciences Team, Department of Chemistry. The ideal candidate will be passionate and focused on developing new technologies that challenge the current boundaries. The candidate will use a combination of highly efficient organic chemistries and modern reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) polymerization techniques to synthesize high-performance functional polymers to support technology development at Kodiak Sciences. This person will join a dynamic, collaborative research environment focused on engineering a new drug delivery platform for ophthalmology applications. The ideal candidate should have hands-on experience in modern RDRP polymerizations and air-free synthesis techniques. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in driving commercial innovation, GLP/GMP, designed experimentation and statistics (e.g., Six-Sigma methodologies) and/or project management tools. The successful candidate is sufficiently versed in organic chemistry techniques, including the design and synthesis of functionalized monomers and polymeric material characterization when needed. 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.
• Maintain an awareness of technical literature and contacts to define new technical approaches, projects and areas of interest. Proactively bring in new technology from external community.
• Develop analytical techniques to characterize new polymers and polymeric materials by 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.
• Stakeholder relationship management and internal customer-centric, deliver impactful results and meeting project timelines, and pro-actively provide strategic inputs to R&D roadmap and future-generation product plans.
• Follow the guidelines for laboratory safety, training procedures and records according to company and industrial standards. Education/Experience
• Ph.D. in polymer chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, or a related field
• Four or more years of relevant experience in biotech/pharma settings, or similar environments, or a relevant postdoc experience is preferred
• 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 is required.
• Experience with automation in polymer chemistry for high throughput formulation screening and development is a strong plus.
• Prior polymer and materials characterization experience in SEC/GPC, NMR, UV-Vis, FT-IR, MALDI-ToF is required; experience in additional thermomechanical property characterizations e.g., DMA, DSC, TGA, and Rheology, and advanced characterization methods including TEM, SEM, SANS, SAXS, is a plus
• Prior experience with polymer grafting, polymer end-group modification, and/or bioconjugate techniques is highly preferred.
• Prior experience with GMP/GLP, and other manufacturing quality and project management tools (e.g., Six-Sigma and DFMEA) is highly preferred.
• Prior experience synthesizing polymers for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery devices, polymer bioconjugates, polymeric hydrogels, nonviral gene therapy, etc. is required.
• Good learning agility and self-driven. Capable of setting goals, planning, leading, and executing R&D projects is a must, as demonstrated by the ability to de-risk projects and manage course corrections.
• Safety-conscious and continuously maintaining a safe work environment as a role model lab citizen is a must.
• Excellent sense for detailed documentation and capture of key procedures, research results, and inventions in support of IP protection and commercial innovation is a must.
• Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills are required for timeline management and driving projects to success.