Principal Scientist – Fluorophore Chemistry & CMC

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

A well-funded clinical-stage biotech developing targeted therapies and imaging agents is hiring a synthetic organic chemist to own its fluorophore program end to end: from bench synthesis through GMP scale-up and CMC.

This is a hands-on role with real ownership. You will design and make the dyes, and you will be the company's technical lead with its external CMC provider.

What you'll do

• Design and synthesise novel fluorophores, with an emphasis on polymethine and near-infrared dyes
• Develop and optimise multistep synthetic routes, troubleshooting them from first principles
• Take molecules from bench through scale-up to GMP manufacture
• Act as the technical interface to the CMC provider: specifications, impurity control, batch records, campaign oversight
• Support IND-stage CMC documentation
• Work alongside the peptide and organic chemistry team on conjugation and bioconjugate chemistry

What you'll need

• PhD in Organic Chemistry or a closely related field
• Demonstrable hands-on fluorophore synthesis: dyes you have made yourself, not purchased and conjugated
• GMP experience and working knowledge of the CMC section of a drug application
• Track record taking chemistry from laboratory scale to GMP manufacture
• Click chemistry and bioconjugation
• Excellent safety record with organic solvents, oxidising agents and flammables
• Someone who reasons past a failed reaction rather than stopping at "it doesn't work"