Senior Principal Scientist, Lab head - NMR and Mass Spec

Why Patients Need You  

Pfizer’s purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Research and Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer’s purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies and vaccines that matter most. Whether you are in the discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy or supporting clinical trials, you will apply cutting edge design and process development capabilities to accelerate and bring the best-in-class medicines to patients around the world.  

What You Will Achieve  

Designing new medicines at Pfizer requires teams that utilize a diverse set of skills, behaviors, and approaches.  Creativity, scientific excellence, tenacity, passion, hard work, organization, teamwork, courage, open-mindedness, and curiosity – are just some of the traits successful Drug Discovery Scientists display at Pfizer.  We are looking for ambitious Analytical Chemists, eager to see their work led to important new medicines and scientific breakthroughs, to join our Analytical Technologies and Compound Management (ATCM) team.  As an NMR-MS Senior Principal Scientist and Lab Head you will lead the ATCM NMR-MS group which leverages small molecule NMR and Mass Spectrometry to drive the design and synthesis of Pfizer’s medicinal chemistry portfolio.  You will work closely with medicinal chemistry to elucidate compound structures and stereochemical determinations as well as solution conformation analyses to drive stage-gate transitions for the Pfizer Discovery Portfolio. You will set the strategy for the ATCM NMR-MS group and represent ATCM in establishing an overall plan for maintaining fleet of NMR and Open Access NMR/Mass Spec/Spectroscopy instruments.  You will develop new methods for using NMR and Mass Spec to drive drug discovery and you will represent the NMR-MS group in internal/external presentations and publications.
 

How You Will Achieve It  

• Set the strategy for ATCM Small Molecule NMR-MS to support the Pfizer East Coast Medicinal Chemistry and Design portfolio.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a group of NMR spectroscopists and Mass Spectrometrists.
• Contribute to the strategy of ATCM as part of the ATCM Leadership Team.
• Improve and maintain the fleet of small molecule NMR and MS instrumentation.
• Characterize and elucidate the structure of small molecules, nucleic acids, macrocycles, and peptides using advanced 1D and 2D NMR techniques.
• Perform conformational analyses to establish molecular solution conformations to drive lead compound optimizations.
• Contribute to the development of new technology in ATCM such as microscale high-throughput NMR, high-throughput and flow reaction monitoring by NMR, automated structure verification, High Resolution and Acoustic Ejection Mass Spectrometry.
• Identify and apply other analytical techniques beyond NMR to solve chemical or molecular-structural challenges.
• Support and contribute to the evolution of the ATCM Group’s culture of teamwork and scientific excellence.

Qualifications  

Must-Have  

• 15+ years of industry experience with a bachelor’s degree, 11+ years of experience with a Master’s degree or 8+ years of experience with a Ph.D. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biophysics or a related field.
• Recognized for using a high level of scientific judgment, independent and creative with a strong track record of applying novel experimental approaches for problem solving to support projects.
• Recognized as an expert in identifying and developing scientific strategies to support mid- and long-term goals for the department.
• Recognized as a mentor with a strong track record of coaching others.
• Track record of teamwork/collaboration within multi-disciplinary matrix teams leading to delivery of project objectives.
• Proven track record of success in small molecule organic structure elucidation and small molecule solution conformation determination.
• Expert knowledge of NMR and MS instrumentation (both hardware and software) and the ability to maintain instrumentation and automation (Bruker, JEOL, Waters, Sciex).
• Expertise in NMR software packages: ACD, MestreLab and MSpin.
• Strong communication skills and a demonstrated ability to create and strongly contribute to independent rese