The Small Molecule Discovery and Development (SMDD) group at Corteva Agriscience is looking to hire a Synthetic Chemist at its Indianapolis Global Business Center.  The SMDD group at Corteva Agriscience is comprised of Discovery Chemistry, Discovery Process Sciences, Process Science and Technology and the Enabling Capabilities groups and represents a significant portion of our R&D innovation engine working towards sustainable crop protection solutions. We are looking for scientists who can work as part of a multidisciplinary team to discover, develop and launch our crop protection pipeline. Come be a part of a team that is singularly focused on enriching the R&D pipeline with crop protection solutions!

What We Offer:

•  A structured and well-mapped-out onboarding plan that will include opportunities for research sabbaticals across all functions within SMDD.

• An opportunity to work in cross-functional teams with pipeline molecules at various stages of development from early discovery to manufacturing and launch.

• Evaluate and apply the latest developments in chemistry literature, emerging synthetic methodologies & technologies that can enhance Corteva’s pipeline

• Generate, document and communicate research in the form of internal scientific reports and external publications.

• Network and learn from experienced and new-hire colleagues on technical or interpersonal skills required for the growth of individuals and teams. 

• Bring in the outside through strategic engagements and collaborations with external networks in academia and industry.

Responsibilities – What You’ll Do:

 SMDD is hiring a Synthetic Chemist across all functions.  Therefore, a desired candidate will have the ability to impact research in one or more of the areas listed below:

 Discovery Chemistry: 

• Innovate at the interface of biology, biochemistry and computational chemistry to generate and test novel hypotheses.

• Evaluate compounds using cutting-edge cheminformatics tools to accurately and efficiently interpret biological data to drive structure-activity relationship (SAR).

• Engage and work with Predictive Safety Center for early-stage assessment of the regulatory and sustainability profile of new compounds.

• Design, synthesize, isolate and characterize novel molecules enabled by modern reaction platforms, purification tools, and analytical instrumentation to facilitate efficient iterative design cycles. 

Discovery Process Sciences:

• Work with process chemists & chemical engineers in the SMDD group to develop more efficient, practical, scalable, and sustainable routes to our small molecule crop protection products.

• Define optimal, low-cost reaction conditions for synthetic steps.

• Manage and contribute to the synthesis of gram-to-kilogram quantities of experimental products for the support of other Corteva R&D sub-functions. 

• Support supply of intermediates and final targets for use in Field, Formulation, and Toxicology studies.

Process Sciences and Technology:

• Develop a cost-effective process for the generation of active ingredients and their intermediates on multi-ton scale with an emphasis on safety and sustainability.

• Transfer technology and support the manufacturing start-up of our small molecule crop protection products by working with pilot plant engineers and manufacturing facilities

• Work with subject matter experts (SMEs) in solids handling, distillation and reaction engineering

• Support reliable scale-up and launches of new pipeline actives

• Support and improve existing manufacturing routes for pipeline activities.

Enabling Capabilities (Automation Chemist & High Throughput Experimentation)

• Design, develop, and deploy automation workflows towards high throughput experimentation & automated synthesis processes to support Small Molecule Discovery & Development.

• Collaborate with software engineering, lab informatics, & data science groups to develop tools for end users and lab automation scientists.

• Learn and utilize data science tools such as R, Python, Spotfire, Tableau, SQL, JMP and others to design experiments (on-the-job training available).

• Seek new opportunities for automation, data capture, and predictive modeling to advance SMDD pipeline, workflows, and data strategy.

Critical Success Factors:

• Technical Ability:  Must be able to generate and interpret data to independently solve synthesis problems.  Must be able to generate and work cross-functionally to implement new processes.

• Innovation:  A key deliverable of the job is to develop new or improved processes.  The individual must be able to problem solve by generating novel ideas and by creatively applying existing technology.

• Interpersonal Effectiveness:  All projects are conducted in a team-based environment, and success is achieved through the effective leveraging of cross-functional resources.  The individual must interact well with others and be able to build and sustain effective relationships.

• Initiative:  Must also drive results independently as well as in teams.  Must show initiative in planning and execution to meet defined goals.

• Teamwork:  All projects are managed by teams of varying sizes.  Cooperating and contributing to meeting team goals is critical.

What Skills You’ll Need:

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry.

• Experience utilizing or developing synthetic methodologies and a proven track record of solving complex synthetic problems is required.

• Ability to work independently and through others to drive projects to a decision point.

• A track record of technical publications, highly effective communication (written and verbal), interpersonal skills and teamwork. 

• Strong skills in capturing, documenting, and analyzing information from sources such as patents and meetings to guide projects, initiatives, and strategies.

• Keep in mind, equivalent amounts of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of the above requirements