Senior Chemist

Allozymes; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Allozymes is seeking a Senior/ Scientist II to lead oligonucleotide chemistry efforts within our R&D team. You will design, optimize, and troubleshoot workflows for nucleotides and modified oligos, and translate chemistry needs into practical assays for enzyme screening and product validation.

You will collaborate across protein engineering, microfluidics, bioprocessing, and data teams, developing robust protocols, reports, and SOPs to ensure reproducibility and knowledge transfer.

Qualifications

• PhD with substantial work experience in organic or nucleic acid chemistry.
• Hands-on synthesis, modification, purification, and analytical characterization of DNA/RNA formats.
• Experience with modified nucleotides and phosphoramidite chemistry is preferred.
• Analytical methods like HPLC/UPLC, LC-MS, MALDI-MS, PAGE, CE are used regularly.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimise oligonucleotide chemistry workflows for nucleotides, modified nucleotides, and short oligos.
• Develop and troubleshoot enzymatic nucleic acid synthesis reactions and optimize conditions.
• Support assay development by translating chemistry needs into experimental formats for enzyme screening.
• Characterise oligonucleotide products and reaction mixtures using analytical techniques.
• Collaborate with protein engineering, microfluidics, bioprocessing, and data teams to define requirements and drive iterations.

Skills

oligo chemistry

experimental design

data analysis

documentation

communication

Education

PhD in Organic/Nucleic Acid Chemistry

MSc with 10+ years experience

Tools

HPLC/UPLC

LC-MS

MALDI-MS

PAGE

CE

Job description

Allozymes is a deep-tech biotechnology company building a highly specialized enzyme engineering platform for the development of superior biosolutions across industries. Our integrated technology combines protein engineering, ultrahigh-throughput microfluidics screening, data-driven design, and bioprocess development to discover, optimize, and scale enzymes faster and more efficiently than conventional approaches. We have been developing next-generation scientific and engineering capabilities to translate enzyme innovation into practical, scalable solutions.

Role Description

We are seeking a Senior/ Scientist II with strong expertise in oligonucleotide chemistry to join our R&D team. The successful candidate will lead and support chemistry-related development activities for enzymatic nucleic acid synthesis workflows. This role is ideal for a hands-on chemist who can work at the interface of oligonucleotide synthesis, enzymology, analytical chemistry, and cross-functional technology development.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimise oligonucleotide chemistry workflows involving nucleotides, modified nucleotides, short oligonucleotides, linkers, protecting groups, activation chemistries, and reaction-compatible substrates.
• Develop and troubleshoot enzymatic nucleic acid synthesis reactions, including reaction setup, buffer and cofactor conditions, substrate compatibility, product formation, and impurity profiles.
• Support assay development by translating chemistry requirements into practical experimental formats suitable for enzyme screening, activity testing, and product validation.
• Conduct analytical characterisation of oligonucleotide products and reaction mixtures using methods such as HPLC, LC-MS, UV absorbance, gel-based analysis, capillary electrophoresis, or other relevant techniques.
• Collaborate closely with protein engineering, microfluidics, bioprocessing, and data teams to define enzyme performance requirements, evaluate chemistry feasibility, and support iterative optimisation cycles.
• Develop robust experimental protocols, SOPs, data templates, and technical reports to ensure reproducibility, traceability, and effective knowledge transfer across teams.
• Analyse experimental results, identify technical bottlenecks, propose next-step experiments, and communicate findings clearly in project meetings and written summaries.
• Maintain safe, compliant, and well-organised laboratory practices, including proper handling of chemical reagents, nucleic acid materials, enzymes, and analytical samples.

Required Qualifications

• PhD with at least 3 years of work experience, MSc with more than 10 years work experience or equivalent experience in organic chemistry, nucleic acid chemistry, chemical biology, or a related discipline.
• Strong hands-on background in oligonucleotide chemistry, including synthesis, modification, purification, and analytical characterisation of DNA, RNA or related nucleic acid formats.
• Experience working with modified nucleotides, phosphoramidite chemistry, solid phase oligo synthesis, or nucleotide analogue development.
• Practical experience with analytical methods relevant to oligonucleotides, such as HPLC/UPLC, LC-MS, MALDI-MS, PAGE, CE, UV/Vis quantification, or related techniques.
• Ability to design controlled experiments, interpret complex analytical data, and troubleshoot chemistry and assay-related challenges independently.
• Strong documentation practices, including laboratory notebooks, SOPs, experimental reports, and structured data capture.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary R&D environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Industry experience in oligonucleotide therapeutics, nucleic acid synthesis, enzymatic synthesis, biocatalysis, molecular biology applications, or platform technology development.
• Experience developing chemistry workflows that interface with enzyme engineering, high-throughput screening, microfluidics, or automated assay systems.
• Familiarity with structure‑activity relationships for nucleic acid substrates, modified bases, sugar modifications, backbone modifications, terminal modifications, or conjugation handles.
• Experience with DOE, statistical analysis, or structured optimisation of reaction conditions.
• Working knowledge of data management tools, ELN systems, Benchling, JMP, or similar scientific software.
• Ability to operate in a fast‑paced startup environment and contribute flexibly across multiple R&D programmes.
• Experience in synthetic organic chemistry, including small‑molecule synthesis, purification, and characterisation, is a plus.

• At Allozymes, you will work with a multidisciplinary team developing advanced enzyme technologies at the interface of chemistry, biology, engineering, and data science. You will contribute to platform capabilities with direct relevance to next-generation nucleic acid technologies while helping shape experimental workflows, analytical standards, and practical chemistry foundations for emerging enzyme-enabled applications.