Scientist/Senior Scientist – Biochemical Assay Development

Full Job Description

Zoetis is a global Animal Health Company which offers a unique product portfolio supporting veterinarians in their animal care including prediction, detection, prevention, and treatment.

Our diagnostic division is rapidly growing, and we are seeking a highly motivated, scientifically creative, and team focused Scientist to support our teams as we develop a multitude of innovative state-of-the-art diagnostic products and continue to support our large on-market product portfolio.

This is an exciting opportunity to grow in a dynamic environment, with exposure to multiple diagnostic technologies, product development as well as on-market product support and work across global locations and cross functions.

POSITION SUMMARY:

We are looking for a Scientist who is excited about working in a fast paced, agile, and rapidly growing diagnostic product development organization. You will be part of a global Assay Development team located in Durham, North Carolina. The responsibilities will include conducting benchtop laboratory experiments and utilizing wet laboratory techniques in the development of innovative bioassay. Additionally, you will provide general laboratory and logistical support across multiple project teams to deliver quality results on time.

You will join a small but fast-growing assay team and help to scale the capabilities of the laboratory to meet project needs. This work will be done in collaboration with a local laboratory manager and experienced development teams both locally and across our multiple global R&D sites.

The position requires strong focus and organizational skills. In addition to executing assay development projects, you will conduct proof-of-principle studies, root cause analysis, validation and verification experiments, and design for purpose workflows. In addition, you will develop customer facing documents, QMS documents, and supporting documents for regulatory submissions.  This will be a collaborative role that works closely with device and consumables engineers, software teams, product manufacturing, commercial teams, as well as our other global R&D assay teams.

You will participate in several cross-functional diagnostics product development projects. Accurately recording study results is a must. We expect that you show strong communication skills, ability to easily communicate results, risks, and conclusions to a cross-functional audience both verbally and in written format. As such, we expect you, together with the team, to stay current on new and competitive products and techniques. Excellent interpersonal, as well as oral and written communication skills are required.

Self-motivation, a strong sense of accountability, willingness to participate in developing and maintaining a strong, positive, and supporting work climate is a must for this position. Furthermore, the ability to work independently, outstanding problem-solving skills, and strong teamwork skills are essential to be successful in this role.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Support projects by assisting with study design and workflow, executing experiments, analyzing data, and reporting findings to other team members.
• Adherence to project timelines.
• Assist in writing study protocols and reports.
• Participation in technical team meetings as required.
• Data entry, verification and handling, record keeping, in accordance with scientific protocols and applicable Standard Operating Procedures.
• Actively participating in organization of laboratory space materials to optimize workflow and space efficiency.
• Laboratory housekeeping duties and other general laboratory related tasks, as appropriate.
• Aliquoting, labeling, storage, and retrieval of study samples.
• Organizing outgoing and incoming shipments of samples, lab supplies, study materials, or test kits to/from other Zoetis sites and external partners.
• Accountable for acquiring samples to support diagnostics development at the Kalamazoo, Union City and Farum sites.
• Sample inventory including documentation of new sample information upon arrival, maintenance of current sample database for freezers and gathering and organizing previous characterization data from multiple sources.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• BS in chemistry, biochemistry, or related discipline with a 2+ years of relevant lab-based work experience or PhD in chemistry, biochemistry, or related discipline with 0+ years of experience. 

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

• Robust experience in immunoassay, chemistry, and/or molecular diagnostics laboratory techniques (ligand binding assays, wet chemistry, ELISA, etc.). A solid scientific understanding of the diagnostics area at large is beneficial.
• Strong awareness of biosafety protocols for conduct of experiments and handling biological specimens.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills, including strong technical writing skills.
• Proactive and proven self-starter, able to work efficiently as part of a team or independently with minimal supervision.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, including negotiating, problem-solving, and willingness to learn are essential for the successful candidate.
• Ability to multitask and work on several projects simultaneously.
• Skilled in organization, prioritization, and follow-through. Proven ability to develop and maintain effective, trusting work and customer relationships is desirable.
• Previous experience with sample acquisition and study logistics is preferred.
• Familiar with statistical methods and software used to analyze data (e.g. JMP, GraphPad).
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Excel Word, PowerPoint and Outlook are required. Manufacturing experience is desirable but not required..
• Willingness to work in a matrix environment, where alignment of goals and flexibility in allocating resources across functions is essential to organizational success.

Full time

Regular

Colleague

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