Senior Analytical Chemist-Contingent

• - VA-Charlottesville
• Charlottesville, VA, USA
• Full Time

Position Purpose:

The successful candidate will be based in our Charlottesville, VA facility and support numerous research and development, laboratory operations, and forensic chemical analysis projects related to defense and national security. The candidate must be motivated to contribute to a team environment, collaborate across multiple scientific and technical disciplines, and be excited to develop new skills.

This position is contingent upon Signature Science winning a position on a laboratory support services contract. Contract award is anticipated in Spring 2023.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following services:

• Directing or conducting sample analysis using various analytical chemistry techniques, developing test plans, and preparing scientific and technical reports and briefings
• Directing research and development activities, and performing literature searches
• Leading operations and maintenance efforts for the analytical laboratory;
• Providing technical training on analytical methods and instrument operation and maintenance;
• Writing, reviewing, and commenting on plans and procedures; implementing a variety of complex analytical procedures; writing project documents with little to no supervision; meeting with and briefing customers and other relevant personnel on ongoing activities; and preparing and giving presentations at professional conferences and other meetings
• This position may require irregular hours, to include work on weekends or after regular business hours. This position may require domestic travel.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• At least two (2) years of post-graduate experience in experimental or applied science
• Hands-on experience operating and maintaining analytical equipment including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for both qualitative and quantitative measurements
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency and experience with MS Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Attention to detail, and the ability to appropriately document work
• The ability to direct others to accomplish project tasks, as needed
• Flexibility to balance multiple on-going tasks while operating efficiently with minimal supervision

Desired Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Proficiency in analytical method development
• Preparation and validation of standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Experience with high resolution-mass spectrometry (HRMS), including operation, maintenance, and the identification of unknowns
• Experience in operating and maintaining Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), ion chromatography-mass spectrometry (IC-MS), and/or inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods and instruments
• Experience and proficiency with Agilent or Thermo Fisher-based chromatography-mass spectrometry data acquisition and data analysis software (e.g., XCalibur, TraceFinder, CompoundDiscoverer, MassHunter, MassProfiler, ChemStation)
• Experience in any of the following: designing/modifying/building new scientific instrumentation and prototypes, technical training, chemical informatics, chemometrics, multivariate data analysis, predictive analytics, and/or data mining, as it related to chemical, biological, biochemical, or other scientific data, R, MATLAB, or Python, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, or other chemical analysis methods
• Experience in applying and reviewing chemical laboratory systems for quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) aspects particularly as it relates to laboratory processes, chemical analyses, and resulting data
• Previous research and development experience related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and/or explosive (CBRNE) threats
• The ability to think creatively, demonstrate curiosity, and lead research teams or chemical analysis labs

Education/Experience:

Ph.D. in Chemistry or related field plus 2 years of experience; M.S. plus 5 years of suitable experience is acceptable.

Clearance:

This position requires that the candidate be willing and able to complete a successful background screening for a security clearance. Candidates with an active security clearance will receive preference.

Citizenship Status:

U.S. Citizen

Supervisory Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will supervise and mentor junior staff, and assign daily/weekly tasking, as applicable.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.