Job Description:
We are looking for a highly motivated computational chemist to join the Computational Chemistry group at our R&D site in Jealott's Hill, UK. The role offers an exciting opportunity to work on chemistry design problems in a multidisciplinary environment, with applications in a wide range of biological systems spanning plant, mammalian and invertebrate biology. The successful candidate will need to demonstrate flexible teamwork and a tenacious approach to delivering computational chemistry outputs to research projects. Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to translate specialist knowledge into a meaningful output for multidisciplinary project teams are highly desirable qualities for this position. Role Purpose - To perform computational chemistry studies supporting new active ingredient invention, working within multidisciplinary project teams in Crop Protection Research
- To effectively communicate results to chemists and cross-disciplinary project teams so that results make an impact
- To maintain awareness of external trends and provide technology foresight in computational chemistry and promote the use of state-of-the art methods in chemistry design
- To support method development in the computational chemistry platform and contribute to strategy
Accountabilities - Support design of new active ingredients by using a broad range of computational techniques, including molecular modelling; structure- and ligand-based design; data analysis and predictive modelling
- Monitor new developments in the field and maintain awareness of technical approaches taken by other companies, vendors, and academia
- Maintain and extend own expertise in areas of computational chemistry of relevance to agrochemical invention, and provide technical leadership in this area of specialism
- Work effectively with computational chemistry colleagues across sites to drive technology development and actively participate in scientific networks
Qualifications
Critical success factors & key challenges - Integrating and adapting quickly to a new working environment and working independently to deliver results on multiple projects
- Working with chemists, computational chemists and other experts to devise strategies on how best to leverage data and provide design inputs to support chemical invention
- Awareness of business context and potential applications of rational design in early-stage research projects
- Ability to broaden scientific horizon and learn methods and ways of working in adjacent scientific fields, e.g. toxicology, plant physiology, physical chemistry, environmental science
- Effective oral and written communication to stakeholders in Chemistry and other R&D functions
Knowledge, experience & capabilities Critical Knowledge - PhD or equivalent in computational chemistry or a related field, with experience in project-based work in multidisciplinary project teams
- Knowledge of structure-based design, including homology modelling, docking and virtual screening
- Knowledge of biochemistry, enzymology and structural biology to guide rational inhibitor design
- Knowledge of molecular mechanics and free energy calculations
- Knowledge of ligand-based rational design, e.g. field- and shape-based methods and conformational exploration, standard QM methods
- Working knowledge of cheminformatics, QSPR, model validation and assessing model robustness; familiarity with machine learning and its applications
- Knowledge of applied statistical methods for data analysis (univariate and multivariate methods, e.g. principal component analysis)
- Understanding of organic chemistry and chemical structure
- Familiarity with standard molecular modelling software packages
- Practical programming and data science skills to support computational chemistry tasks, e.g. Python,/Java/C++, high-performance computing, pipelining tools, shell scripting, databases
Critical Experience - Experience in project-based work in multidisciplinary project teams
- Experience in an industrial drug discovery environment is a plus
Additional Information
Syngenta will offer - Competitive salary and benefits scheme including bonus, healthcare & generous pension
- 31.5 days annual holiday
- Flexible working hours
- A commitment to innovation
- Leading edge technology
- Good onsite facilities including a staff restaurant, a gym and fitness classes
- Great opportunities for personal and career development
- Interaction with external researchers and opportunities to represent Syngenta in research networks, collaborations and conferences.
- Vibrant R&D focused workforce with wide and varied social communities to join
We embrace and encourage diversity, and this is what drives our innovation and lets us outperform the market. https://www.syngenta.com/careers/working-syngenta/diversity-and-inclusion |
