Senior Pharmaceutical Chemist

Placements24; Durban; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary package

Health and wellness benefits

Pension fund and life insurance

Career advancement opportunities

State-of-the-art laboratory facilities

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Pharmaceutical Chemist to join its Durban R&D team. The role focuses on discovery and development of novel drug candidates, with responsibilities spanning synthesis, characterization, and optimization of compounds for preclinical programs.

You will work closely with medicinal chemists and pharmacologists, contributing to regulatory filings and scientific reports in a well-equipped laboratory environment in Durban.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry or closely related field.
• Minimum 5 years in pharmaceutical R&D focusing on synthetic organic chemistry.
• Proficiency with modern purification and analytical techniques.

Responsibilities

• Synthesize complex drug candidates using advanced synthetic methods.
• Develop scalable synthetic routes for efficient production.
• Characterize compounds with NMR, MS and HPLC.
• Perform structure elucidation and purity analyses.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists to optimize analogs.
• Maintain detailed notebooks and contribute to reports and filings.

Skills

Modern synthetic methodologies

Purification techniques

Analytical characterization

Problem-solving

Scientific data integrity

Education

Ph.D. in Organic or Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Tools

NMR

MS

HPLC

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking a highly experienced Senior Pharmaceutical Chemist to join their dedicated research and development team in Durban . This role is instrumental in the discovery and development of novel pharmaceutical compounds. You will be responsible for synthesizing, characterizing, and optimizing drug candidates, working closely with medicinal chemists and pharmacologists to advance preclinical drug development programs. This is an opportunity to contribute to significant advancements in pharmaceutical science within a well-equipped laboratory and a collaborative team environment, playing a key part in bringing life-changing medications to market.

Key Responsibilities

• Synthesize complex organic molecules and drug candidates using advanced synthetic chemistry techniques.
• Develop and optimize synthetic routes for scalability and efficiency.
• Characterize synthesized compounds using techniques such as NMR, Mass Spectrometry, and HPLC.
• Perform structural elucidation and purity analysis of new chemical entities.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists to design and synthesize analogs with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties.
• Maintain detailed laboratory notebooks and contribute to scientific reports and regulatory filings.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development, focusing on synthetic organic chemistry.
• Expertise in modern synthetic methodologies, purification techniques, and analytical characterization.
• Proficiency with NMR, MS, HPLC, and other relevant analytical instrumentation.
• Strong understanding of drug discovery principles and medicinal chemistry.
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and a commitment to producing high-quality scientific data.

Benefits

• Competitive salary package and performance incentives.
• Comprehensive health and wellness benefits.
• Pension fund and life insurance coverage.
• Opportunities for career advancement within the organization.
• State-of-the-art laboratory facilities in Durban .