Assistant Team Leader – ChemSearch&Dev

About Chemify

Chemify is creating a future where important molecules, drugs and currently unimaginable new materials are instantly accessible; thereby radically increasing the speed of innovation, quality of life, and reach of humanity. The company is building the infrastructure to digitize chemistry for the design, discovery and synthesis of new molecules with the desired function and properties instantly and on-demand. Chemify has built a platform that combines purpose-built programming languages, robotics, AI, and the world's largest and continuously growing database of chemical programs to accelerate chemical discovery to new, transformative heights. Chemify is supported by some of the best investors from Silicon Valley and across the world, including Triatomic Capital, BlueYard Ventures, DCVC, Founders Fund, and others.

What we offer

This is a chance to combine hands-on synthetic chemistry with your first step into team leadership — taking on responsibility for how the ChemSearch and ChemDev team's workload is planned and delivered, while continuing to run your own synthesis projects. You'll work closely with the Team Leader on the daily running of the team, with a clear path toward taking on more leadership scope over time.

Job purpose

As our Assistant Team Leader, you'll support the ChemSearch and ChemDev Team Leader in the daily running of the team — balancing workload across chemists, following up on outstanding work orders to keep reactions and requests moving to target turnaround times, and stepping in to lead day-to-day team activities in the Team Leader's absence. Alongside this, you'll continue to run your own Search&Dev work requests: designing experiments, executing reactions, and interpreting the resulting data.

Who we are looking for

We're looking for an experienced synthetic chemist who's ready to take the first step in team leadership. You'll have a strong track record delivering your own synthesis projects to a high standard, and the organisational skills to juggle competing priorities across a team, not just your own bench work. You're comfortable following up on outstanding work and pushing things over the line, and you communicate well with route managers, project managers and the wider team to keep everyone aligned on priorities.

Key responsibilities

• Workload balancing: Help the Team Leader allocate reactions, requests and projects across the team, balancing capacity against turnaround targets and priorities.

• Work order follow-up: Track outstanding work orders and requests, chasing progress and flagging anything at risk of missing target turnaround times.

• Team leadership cover: Step in to lead day-to-day team activities when the Team Leader is unavailable.

• Synthesis delivery: Design, execute and iterate on manual and automated synthetic procedures to support Chemify's commercial and product development projects, managing your own campaigns end to end.

• Analytical interpretation: Follow established analytical methods (TLC, Flash LC, HPLC, UPLC) and critically interpret the resulting data to confirm reaction and purification outcomes.

• Mentoring: Support and train less experienced chemists, helping them adapt to lab procedures and processes.

• Reporting and documentation: Produce accurate, timely documentation of experiments and contribute to synthesis reports for clients, in line with agreed standards.

• Process improvement: Contribute ideas for new or more efficient laboratory processes, and support the Team Leader in tracking the team's performance against its goals.

Qualifications and experience

Essential

• Education and experience: PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, or equivalent experience, with several years in an industrial synthetic chemistry laboratory

• Track record: Proven experience delivering synthesis projects independently, from route selection through to purification and analysis

• Organisational skills: Comfortable managing competing priorities and following up on outstanding work across more than just your own workload

• Communication: Strong communication skills, confident liaising with route managers, project managers and the wider team

• Resilience: Comfortable with the pace and occasional setbacks of laboratory synthesis work Desired (not essential)

• Leadership experience: Prior experience leading, supervising or mentoring others
• Automation: Enthusiasm for pushing automation approaches in chemistry

Compensation and working pattern

A competitive base salary reflecting the added leadership responsibility. Full support and handover will be provided by the current Team Leader as you take on the role.

Growth opportunities

This role is a natural stepping stone toward taking on full team leadership in future, and closer involvement in shaping how ChemSearch&Dev plan and deliver their work as the team continues to grow.

Location

Based at our Glasgow site. Given the hands-on nature of the role, this is an on-site position.

UK right to work

Please note that the company are unable to sponsor visas for this role.