Associate Scientist - Organic & Process Chemistry Position in Santa Monica, CA

Provivi Overview
Provivi, Inc. based in Santa Monica, California is a Caltech start-up company that was founded in 2013 by Professor Frances Arnold, Pedro Coelho and Peter Meinhold. Our mission is to provide disruptive chemistry solutions for agricultural, household, and professional pest control that are safe,
environmentally benign and have improved performance. We are developing innovative biocatalysis and fermentation technology to produce these products and are seeking to hire the best and the brightest minds so that we can together achieve these goals.
Role Description
As a member of the Provivi’s R&D team, you will be responsible for contributing to the planning of
synthetic routes, the execution and delivery of chemical synthesis projects. This will include the
preparation, purification and characterization of all materials, maintaining clear and current records of their work within a laboratory notebook and performing all applicable analytical work. Strong technical, organizational, and communication skills, as well as the ability to develop creative solutions to challenging problems, are essential.
Responsibilities Include
o Plan and conduct innovative research of commercial and strategic importance to support
business objectives including:
o Organic syntheses.
o Catalytic reactions with associated optimization and feedstock pretreatment studies.
o Scale-up of developed processes to the kilogram level
o Actively demonstrate positive safety behaviors and practices.
o Thorough documentation of experimental procedures, writing of reports and technical
documents.
o Must maintain a high level of productivity in the laboratory setting. Demonstrate the ability to
resolve key project hurdles and assumptions by effectively utilizing available information and
technical expertise.
o Anticipate needs and communicate consumable/equipment requirements.
o Ensure scientific equipments are maintained in good working order; troubleshoot and perform
minor repairs as needed.
o Write standard operating procedures (SOP) and reports for internal and external use.
o Remains current with the relevant chemistry literature and champions the implementation of
new technology. Collaborates and prepares internal research reports, invention disclosures, and
technical presentation.
o Review data for technical content and regulatory compliance.
Qualifications & Skills Include
o Desired Education/Experience:
o At least B.S. or M.S. in chemistry or equivalent.
o 1-3 years of industrial or academic experience with hands-on experience in synthetic
organic chemistry and a good understanding of analytical chemistry.
• Skills:
o Experience as a synthetic organic or process development chemist in an industry
laboratory is preferred with good understanding of synthetic organic chemistry,
organometallic catalysis, analytical chemistry, and chemical engineering principles.
o Knowledge of unit operations used in manufacturing, especially industrial relevant
purification methods such as distillation and crystallization.
o Candidates must possess a strong background in the theory and practice of synthetic
organic chemistry, possess excellent problem solving skills and demonstrate a thorough
understanding of synthetic methods and reaction mechanisms.
o Must be able to independently prioritize own work assignments, and consistently
demonstrate the ability to perform assigned tasks through rigorous data collection and
applying analytical tests and instrumentation in the laboratory.
o Must have expertise in the purification and characterization of organic compounds using
applicable modern techniques.
o Must be skilled in operation of chromatographic data acquisition and processing
software packages such as Agilent ChemStation, MS Excel and other software tools for
data reduction and presentation.
o Excellent written, reporting, and verbal communication skills
o Must be hard working and be able to deliver results under tight deadlines
o Good interpersonal skills and well-developed oral and written communication skills to
build strong internal and external relationships.
o Must be flexible, able to work on multiple projects simultaneously
o Must be highly-motivated and capable of working independently while also possessing
exceptional communication and teamwork skills.
Contact
If interested, please submit a letter of interest, resume and salary requirements to careers@provivi.com.  Please no phone calls or agency submissions.