Scientist, Organic Chemistry

Kodiak Sciences Inc. is a fast-growing clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a singular focus in ophthalmology. The company is committed to progressing and expanding its pipeline through research, development, and commercialization of transformative therapeutics for prevention, treatment, and, when possible, cure of high-prevalence ophthalmology diseases. Our unique Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate (ABC) platform merges the fields of protein engineering, polymer chemistry, small molecule drug discovery, bioconjugation, and drug release, and is at the core of our discovery engine.

Kodiak Sciences, Inc. is seeking a highly motivated Organic Chemist to join a dynamic multidisciplinary team in our Discovery Medicine group designing novel disruptive ophthalmic medicines and delivery platforms. This is an outstanding opportunity for a well-rounded chemistry generalist with a keen scientific aptitude and curiosity coupled with passion for using organic chemistry to tackle the broadest variety of synthetic challenges ranging from drug discovery, linker design and chemistry, bioconjugation, polymer synthesis, functionalization and characterization.

The successful candidate must combine strong theoretical knowledge and comprehension of organic chemistry in the broadest sense, mastery of standard and modern synthetic chemistry techniques, practical bench-top skills, independence, and resourcefulness in reaction design with tenacity in route selection and optimization. Strong command of analytical methods and instrumentation, hands-on experience with separation, isolation, and purification techniques, and skills in summarizing and interpreting analytical and functional data for determining identity and purity of small or large molecules are a must.

The ideal candidate stands out through a “can-do attitude” coupled with resourcefulness, independence of thought, problem-solving skills, determination to make an impact, as well as ambition for professional and personal growth. A strong natural sense of accountability, research integrity, and documentation are a must. We are searching for highly motivated, team-oriented scientists with good technical skills and a track record of problem-solving to join our team of dedicated professionals devoted to advancing novel treatments to unmet medical indications.

Responsibilities

• Synthesis of organic chemistry compounds in support of a plurality of in-house R&D campaigns with an emphasis on designing and reducing to practice workable synthetic routes towards sophisticated custom building blocks, small molecules, bio-tools, novel linkers, and drug-release technology.

• Design, synthesis, and scale-up of functional monomers.

• Independently design and conduct experiments within the project and corporate goals. Analyze, interpret, organize, capture, and document data and effectively communicate results in team meetings.

• Engagement in relationship management with CROs for outsourcing.

• Collaborate with scientific colleagues across functional disciplines and departments. Qualifications

• Ph.D. in preparative organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, or related discipline, preferably with 0-2 years of industry experience after graduation and/or postdoc.

• Skilled in the art and practice of modern synthetic and physical organic chemistry with demonstrated experience designing and executing multistep synthesis of complex organic molecules.

• Competence with the use of modern spectroscopic methods applied to structure determination, including NMR and HPLC-MS. Experience in maintaining related instruments is highly preferred.

• Knowledge of safe laboratory practices, including the proper procedures for handling chemicals and samples. Follow all safety rules and regulations.

• Experience in computerized data management systems or willingness to obtain proficiency.

• Store, organize, and maintain compound and reagent inventory. Experience in sample management, inventory, and tracking is a plus.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Experience from biorthogonal conjugation chemistry is highly preferred but not necessary.