Assistant Team Leader – ChemSearch&Dev

Chemify Ltd; Maryhill (WA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

Chemify Ltd is seeking an experienced synthetic chemist stepping into team leadership as Assistant Team Leader for the ChemSearch and ChemDev teams, based at our Glasgow site.

You will support daily team operations while continuing to run your own synthesis projects, designing experiments, executing reactions, and interpreting results. This role offers growth toward full leadership and closer involvement in planning team work.

Qualifications

• PhD in synthetic organic chemistry or equivalent with several years in industry.
• Proven experience delivering synthesis projects independently from route selection to analysis.
• Strong organisational and multitasking abilities across multiple projects.
• Excellent communication with route managers, project managers and the team.
• Willingness to mentor others and lead when needed.
• Interest in automation approaches in chemistry.

Responsibilities

• Balance workload across chemists and allocate reactions to meet turnaround targets.
• Follow up on outstanding work orders to ensure on-time delivery.
• Lead day-to-day team activities when the Team Leader is unavailable.
• Design, execute and iterate synthesis procedures for own campaigns and projects.
• Interpret TLC, Flash LC, HPLC, and UPLC data to confirm outcomes.
• Mentor less experienced chemists and train on lab procedures.
• Document experiments and contribute to client reports.
• Suggest improvements to lab processes and help track team performance.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Organisational skills

Mentoring

Automation enthusiasm

Education

PhD in synthetic organic chemistry

Industrial synthetic chemistry laboratory experience

Tools

TLC

Flash LC

HPLC

UPLC

Job description

What we offer

This is a chance to combine hands-on synthetic chemistry with your first step into team leadership — taking onresponsibility for how the ChemSearch and ChemDev team's workload is planned and delivered, whilecontinuing to run your own synthesis projects. You'll work closely with the Team Leader on the daily running ofthe team, with a clear path toward taking on more leadership scope over time.

Job purpose

As our Assistant Team Leader, you'll support the ChemSearch and ChemDev Team Leader in the daily runningof the team — balancing workload across chemists, following up on outstanding work orders to keep reactionsand requests moving to target turnaround times, and stepping in to lead day-to-day team activities in the TeamLeader's absence. Alongside this, you'll continue to run your own Search&Dev work requests: designingexperiments, executing reactions, and interpreting the resulting data.

Who we are looking for

We're looking for an experienced synthetic chemist who's ready to take the first step in team leadership. You'llhave a strong track record delivering your own synthesis projects to a high standard, and the organisationalskills to juggle competing priorities across a team, not just your own bench work. You're comfortable followingup on outstanding work and pushing things over the line, and you communicate well with route managers,project managers and the wider team to keep everyone aligned on priorities.

Key responsibilities

• Workload balancing: Help the Team Leader allocate reactions, requests and projects across the team,balancing capacity against turnaround targets and priorities.
• Work order follow-up: Track outstanding work orders and requests, chasing progress and flagginganything at risk of missing target turnaround times.
• Team leadership cover: Step in to lead day-to-day team activities when the Team Leader isunavailable.
• Synthesis delivery: Design, execute and iterate on manual and automated synthetic procedures tosupport Chemify's commercial and product development projects, managing your own campaigns endto end.
• Analytical interpretation: Follow established analytical methods (TLC, Flash LC, HPLC, UPLC) andcritically interpret the resulting data to confirm reaction and purification outcomes.
• Mentoring: Support and train less experienced chemists, helping them adapt to lab procedures andprocesses.
• Reporting and documentation: Produce accurate, timely documentation of experiments andcontribute to synthesis reports for clients, in line with agreed standards.
• Process improvement: Contribute ideas for new or more efficient laboratory processes, and supportthe Team Leader in tracking the team's performance against its goals.

Qualifications and experience

• Education and experience: PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, or equivalent experience, with severalyears in an industrial synthetic chemistry laboratory
• Track record: Proven experience delivering synthesis projects independently, from route selectionthrough to purification and analysis
• Organisational skills: Comfortable managing competing priorities and following up on outstandingwork across more than just your own workload
• Communication: Strong communication skills, confident liaising with route managers, projectmanagers and the wider team
• Resilience: Comfortable with the pace and occasional setbacks of laboratory synthesis workDesired (not essential)
• Leadership experience: Prior experience leading, supervising or mentoring others
• Automation: Enthusiasm for pushing automation approaches in chemistry

Compensation and working pattern

A competitive base salary reflecting the added leadership responsibility. Full support and handover will beprovided by the current Team Leader as you take on the role.

Growth opportunities

This role is a natural stepping stone toward taking on full team leadership in future, and closer involvement inshaping how ChemSearch&Dev plan and deliver their work as the team continues to grow.

Location

Based at our Glasgow site. Given the hands-on nature of the role, this is an on-site position.

UK right to work

Please note that the company are unable to sponsor visas for this role.