Senior Scientist (Synthetic Chemistry) Full-time

Senior Scientist

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity? At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients. Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of next generation life science tools and integrated systems for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and biological function. These systems are enabling studies that were not even imaginable just a few years ago and moving us closer to the realization of personalized medicine. With the innovative advances in our sequencing technologies, we are rapidly impacting the clinical market in areas such as reproductive health and oncology. The expanding Illumina oncology portfolio of next-generation sequencing NGS and microarray technologies is revolutionizing cancer genomics research. Our customers include a broad range of academic, government, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other leading institutions around the globe.

We are currently seeking a Senior Scientist to join our Synthetic chemistry team. Ideal candidates are resourceful individuals with diverse scientific interests who thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and collaborative interdisciplinary research environment. As a member of our team, you will be responsible for developing, synthesizing and characterizing future sequencing reagents with enhanced biocompatibility, stability and sequencing performance.

Position Summary: As a Senior Scientist within Illumina's Research and Development team, you will work as part of a multi-disciplinary research team to help create new sequencing methods. You will play an important role in the research and development of sequencing reagents and consumables with the world-class performance, stability and robustness characteristics that our customers require.

Responsibilities: Lead innovative new projects in a fast-paced research and technology development environment. Identify, evaluate, plan, and optimize research ideas leading to new methods and chemistries for sequencing. Explore new technologies and identify creative solutions to overcome current limitations. Identify new opportunities for innovative products using the company's core technologies. Design, implement, analyze and present experiments to demonstrate feasibility of new technology. Be both a strong individual contributor as well as a collaborative team member. Conduct clear and concise communication with colleagues (cross-functional) and supervisors through oral updates, written reports and technical meetings.

Requirements: Excellent skills in synthetic organic chemistry, small molecule synthesis, biomolecular bioconjugation. Experience in nucleotide and oligonucleotide synthesis preferred. Experienced in analytical techniques such as NMR, HPLC and MS. Excellent laboratory, experimental and organizational skills. Proven track record of innovation and scientific creativity. Passionate about research and goals-driven. Design and execute experiments with limited instruction. Ability to effectively troubleshoot, propose and prioritize next steps or suggest alternate strategies. Perform data analysis; write reports and present results to the project team, draw conclusion and propose next steps. Attention to detail and the ability to communicate effectively, taking initiative. Analytical, organized, efficient, problem solver, easily adaptable, self-motivated, independent but also works well in a team. A self-starter, positive, and driven with a “can do” attitude. Excellent verbal/written communication skills.

Preferred Skills and Experience: Experience in organic synthesis. Experience in nucleotide chemistry. Experience in various chromatography purification techniques. Experienced in bioanalytical assays such as fluorescence-based assays. Industrial experience is highly desirable. Education: PhD degree in chemistry, biochemistry or materials science or BSc or Masters degree in chemistry, biochemistry or materials science with 6+ years of industrial experience. Strong applicants with lesser experience will be considered for a position commensurate with the experience.