Senior Principal Scientist CRO Mgmnt. Medicinal Chemistry Vaccines

External Resource Manager, Lipid/Medicinal Chemistry, mRNA Center of Excellence, Sanofi

Senior Principal Scientist Level

The external resource manager is a highly accomplished medicinal chemist with strong synthetic chemistry, external resource management, and computational chemistry/cheminformatics experience.

At Sanofi, we chase the miracles of science, and we know mRNA has a role to play in the future of health. And while the pandemic has shaken up our industry, creating new opportunities and risks, we believe the acceleration of innovation with mRNA technology means vaccines and treatments for more people faster than before. That is why we are looking for bold, optimistic world-changers to join the team at our mRNA Center of Excellence. We are investing €400m a year into the new Center, hiring a team of 450 dedicated employees for it and using it as the foundation to implement integrated end-to-end mRNA vaccine capabilities and research with R&D, digital and CMC teams.

About the Opportunity

As an important function in our chemistry team, this position has responsibilities of developing robust lipid chemistry and managing external resource to support novel lipid discovery for mRNAs delivery as vaccines and therapeutics. To increase success rate while decreasing discovery timeline, this principal scientist is expected to have deep understanding of structure-activity relationships and be highly skillful in using computational and cheminformatic tools for rational lipid design. As an important member of our global chemistry team, the individual is required to collaborate closely with other team members as well as cross-functional teams such as formulation/delivery, data science, discovery biology, and biomarker teams to facilitate lipid candidate selection for vaccine and therapeutic applications in the mRNA Center of Excellence, Sanofi. This is an exciting opportunity for individuals who are eager to expand knowledge and learn cutting-age biotechnology in lipid medicinal chemistry, mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) drug delivery, immunology, and mRNA vaccine/therapeutics discovery and development.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide leadership in design and optimization of synthetic routes for various chemical entities including but not limited to lipids used in nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery as well as modified nucleosides and nucleotides for RNA synthesis.

• Manage external resource including synthetic target design, chemistry planning, trouble shooting, data collection and experimental writeup, and sample management

• Manage external resource for ELN data integrity and integration with internal system

• Coordinate internal and external chemistry resources to ensure high productivity and compound supply for advanced in vitro and in vivo studies

• Manage inventory and quality control of lipid samples

• Activity database update, data sharing, and structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis

• Collaborate with data and computational science for ML/AI model development and user interface design and optimization

• Provide technical guidance and assist CMC process development for lipid candidates

• Work closely with IP counsel for patent drafting and filing

• Stay abreast of the latest developments in mRNA vaccine/therapeutic field and provide leadership for innovation and platform improvement.

• Communicate both internally and externally our outstanding research and be influential in relevant scientific community.

Qualifications:

• PhD in organic or medicinal chemistry with ≥ 10 years of relevant experience

• Expert knowledge and extensive experience in synthetic and medicinal chemistry

• Highly skillful in multi-step, convergent, and parallel synthesis route design and execution at various scales

• Expert in modern instrumentation (LC/MS) and structural elucidation and determination

• Minimum 2 years of experience in leading external resource (≥10 FTEs) management including resource forecast, chemistry planning and execution, reaction problem solving and trouble hooting, and performance evaluation

• Strong experience in computational chemistry, cheminformatics, and their applications in drug design and SAR development

• Experience in modified nucleoside and nucleotide chemistry is a plus

• Experience in lipid chemistry and nucleic acid delivery is also a plus

• Must have advanced skills in IP novelty search and excellent track record of patents and patent applications, and external invited presentations and scientific publications as a leading contributor

• Strong mindset for innovation and platform improvement

• Leadership capability in setting up goals and scientific strategies for achieving the goals

• Outstanding communication skills in both oral and written English

Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employers committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.

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At Sanofi diversity and inclusion is foundational to how we operate and embedded in our Core Values. We recognize to truly tap into the richness diversity brings we must lead with inclusion and have a workplace where those differences can thrive and be leveraged to empower the lives of our colleagues, patients and customers. We respect and celebrate the diversity of our people, their backgrounds and experiences and provide equal opportunity for all.

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