Senior Chemist

Company Description

Allozymes is a deep-tech biotechnology company building a highly specialized enzyme engineering platform for the development of superior biosolutions across industries. Our integrated technology combines protein engineering, ultrahigh-throughput microfluidics screening, data-driven design, and bioprocess development to discover, optimize, and scale enzymes faster and more efficiently than conventional approaches. We have been developing next-generation scientific and engineering capabilities to translate enzyme innovation into practical, scalable solutions.

Role Description

We are seeking a Senior/Scientist II with strong expertise in oligonucleotide chemistry to join our R&D team. The successful candidate will lead and support chemistry-related development activities for enzymatic nucleic acid synthesis workflows. This role is ideal for a hands-on chemist who can work at the interface of oligonucleotide synthesis, enzymology, analytical chemistry, and cross-functional technology development.

Key Responsibilities

· Design, develop, and optimise oligonucleotide chemistry workflows involving nucleotides, modified nucleotides, short oligonucleotides, linkers, protecting groups, activation chemistries, and reaction-compatible substrates.

· Develop and troubleshoot enzymatic nucleic acid synthesis reactions, including reaction setup, buffer and cofactor conditions, substrate compatibility, product formation, and impurity profiles.

· Support assay development by translating chemistry requirements into practical experimental formats suitable for enzyme screening, activity testing, and product validation.

· Conduct analytical characterisation of oligonucleotide products and reaction mixtures using methods such as HPLC, LC-MS, UV absorbance, gel-based analysis, capillary electrophoresis, or other relevant techniques.

· Collaborate closely with protein engineering, microfluidics, bioprocessing, and data teams to define enzyme performance requirements, evaluate chemistry feasibility, and support iterative optimisation cycles.

· Develop robust experimental protocols, SOPs, data templates, and technical reports to ensure reproducibility, traceability, and effective knowledge transfer across teams.

· Analyse experimental results, identify technical bottlenecks, propose next-step experiments, and communicate findings clearly in project meetings and written summaries.

· Maintain safe, compliant, and well-organised laboratory practices, including proper handling of chemical reagents, nucleic acid materials, enzymes, and analytical samples.

Required Qualifications

· PhD with at least 3 years of work experience, MSc with more than 10 years work experience or equivalent experience in organic chemistry, nucleic acid chemistry, chemical biology, or a related discipline.

· Strong hands-on background in oligonucleotide chemistry, including synthesis, modification, purification, and analytical characterisation of DNA, RNA or related nucleic acid formats.

· Experience working with modified nucleotides, phosphoramidite chemistry, solid phase oligo synthesis, or nucleotide analogue development.

· Practical experience with analytical methods relevant to oligonucleotides, such as HPLC/UPLC, LC-MS, MALDI-MS, PAGE, CE, UV/Vis quantification, or related techniques.

· Ability to design controlled experiments, interpret complex analytical data, and troubleshoot chemistry and assay-related challenges independently.

· Strong documentation practices, including laboratory notebooks, SOPs, experimental reports, and structured data capture.

· Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary R&D environment.

Preferred Qualifications

· Industry experience in oligonucleotide therapeutics, nucleic acid synthesis, enzymatic synthesis, biocatalysis, molecular biology applications, or platform technology development.

· Experience developing chemistry workflows that interface with enzyme engineering, high-throughput screening, microfluidics, or automated assay systems.

· Familiarity with structure–activity relationships for nucleic acid substrates, modified bases, sugar modifications, backbone modifications, terminal modifications, or conjugation handles.

· Experience with DOE, statistical analysis, or structured optimisation of reaction conditions.

· Working knowledge of data management tools, ELN systems, Benchling, JMP, or similar scientific software.

· Ability to operate in a fast-paced startup environment and contribute flexibly across multiple R&D programmes.

· Experience in synthetic organic chemistry, including small-molecule synthesis, purification, and characterisation, is a plus.

Why Join Allozymes

• At Allozymes, you will work with a multidisciplinary team developing advanced enzyme technologies at the interface of chemistry, biology, engineering, and data science. You will contribute to platform capabilities with direct relevance to next-generation nucleic acid technologies while helping shape experimental workflows, analytical standards, and practical chemistry foundations for emerging enzyme-enabled applications.