Senior Scientist, Lipid Chemistry

The Company:

FL85 is a Flagship backed, privately held biotechnology company on a mission to transform the current approach to information molecule therapeutics to unlock their full therapeutic potential. In recent years, we have begun to experience the power of information molecules in treating historically undruggable diseases and in designing therapies with unprecedented turnaround times. FL85’s platform integrates nanoparticle development with world-class informatics technologies and a novel pipeline of experimentation and discovery to drive a new generation of highly effective, therapeutically relevant information molecule therapies. We are seeking collaborative, relentless problem solvers that share our passion for impact to join us!

FL85 was founded by Flagship Pioneering. Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category life sciences companies to transform human health and sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, the firm has applied a unique hypothesis-driven innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $30 billion in aggregate value. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 37 transformative companies, including: Moderna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRNA), Indigo Agriculture, Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Generate Biomedicines, and Tessera Tx.

Position Summary:

FL85 is seeking a proactive and motivated Sr. Scientist to discover novel lipids within a multifunctional lipid nanoparticle discovery function. Members of this team will be responsible for the creation, synthesis, and purification of novel ionizable lipids in concert with colleagues in formulation and testing. This individual will join a world-class, dynamic, and highly collaborative team that is driving a novel platform for delivery of information molecule/nucleic acid therapeutics.

Responsibilities:

• Discover novel lipids and associated chemistries based on therapeutically relevant properties for information molecule delivery.
• Enable and expand parallel synthesis access to an ever-growing estate of ionizable lipids
• Drive portfolio development of novel lipids libraries for formulation of diverse lipid nanoparticles.
• Analyze and characterize lipid chemistries, modifications, and/or chemical features in relation to overall lipid nanoparticle performance in vivo.
• Drive research around lipid synthesis and scale-up to relevant levels for production across initial discovery, pre-clinical in vivo experimentation, and beyond.
• Drive external collaborations to enhance and accelerate lipid library construction, synthesis, analysis, and/or manufacturing.
• Work closely with the formulations, informatics, analytical methods, in vivo, process development, and RNA synthesis teams to integrate novel lipid chemistries into an overall pipeline of delivery vehicle construction, deployment, and in vivo studies.
• Support continual optimization of the steps in lipid synthesis to generate high-yield, scalable lipid synthesis processes.
• Maintain lab workflows, and steward and track equipment.
• Present and share results with the broader team of scientists and leadership.
  
  

Qualifications:

• Post-doctoral experience, a PhD with 3+ years of relevant industry experience, or BS/MS with 8+ years of relevant experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.
• A strong track record of developing medicinal chemistry approaches to generate novel lipid-based chemical entities and conjugates to support lipid nanoparticle discovery.
• Extensive experience implementing routine and advanced analytical methods to characterize structures and purities of synthetic compounds, such as HPLC-CAD, LC/MS, NMR.
• A strong background in lipid chemistry development across scales, from theoretical identification to synthesis, evaluation in experimental settings, and incorporation into delivery vehicle formulations.
• Deep understanding of state-of-the-art synthetic chemistry methodologies.
• Excellent instrument, method, and data analysis troubleshooting and debugging skills.
• Strong team player, working with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced startup setting.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, for both technical and more general audience
  
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with process scale up around novel lipid chemistries for lipid nanoparticles.
• Experience with developing novel lipid chemistries for in vivo applications.
• Previous experience managing a team of bench researchers and scientists.
  
  

Location: Cambridge, MA

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.