Lead Fluorophore Chemist — Bench to GMP Scale-Up

Discover International; Cape Coral (FL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Discover International is seeking a synthetic organic chemist to lead its fluorophore program from bench synthesis to GMP scale-up and CMC support. You will design and make dyes and serve as the technical lead with external CMC providers.

The role is hands-on with full ownership, requiring a PhD in organic chemistry and proven experience taking fluorophores from concept to GMP manufacturing. Collaboration with peptide and organic teams is essential.

Qualifications

• PhD in Organic Chemistry or closely related field.
• Hands-on fluorophore synthesis—dyes made in-house.
• GMP experience and working knowledge of CMC for drug applications.
• Track record taking chemistry from lab scale to GMP manufacture.
• Click chemistry and bioconjugation experience.
• Excellent safety record with solvents, oxidants and flammables.
• Ability to reason past failed reactions rather than stop at the obstacle.

Responsibilities

• Design and synthesize novel fluorophores, including polymethine and near-infrared dyes.
• Develop and optimize multistep synthetic routes.
• Scale from bench through GMP manufacture.
• Serve as technical interface to CMC provider: specs, impurities, batch records, campaign oversight.
• Support IND-stage CMC documentation.
• Collaborate with peptide and organic chemistry teams on conjugation and bioconjugation.

Skills

Fluorophore synthesis

GMP experience

Bioconjugation

Click chemistry

Scale-up problem solving

Safety practices

Education

PhD in Organic Chemistry

Job description

Discover International is seeking a synthetic organic chemist to lead its fluorophore program from bench synthesis to GMP scale-up and CMC support. You will design and make dyes and serve as the technical lead with external CMC providers.

The role is hands-on with full ownership, requiring a PhD in organic chemistry and proven experience taking fluorophores from concept to GMP manufacturing. Collaboration with peptide and organic teams is essential.