Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Daily Pump Trap: 4/30/13 edition

Between April 25 and April 29, there were 29 new positions posted on the C&EN Jobs website. Of these, 7 (24%) were academically connected. 

New York, NY: D.E. Shaw Research has put out yet another one of its drug discovery ads -- what is different, I sense, is that they're finally looking for senior medicinal chemists:
Extraordinarily gifted scientists with expertise in computer-aided drug design or protein structural modeling are sought to join a New York–based interdisciplinary research group that is pursuing an ambitious, long-term strategy aimed at fundamentally transforming the process of drug discovery. 
Candidates should have world-class credentials in drug discovery. Relevant areas of experience might include medicinal chemistry, structure- and fragment-based drug design, molecular modeling, chemo- and bio-informatics, and/or target analysis and selection. Specific knowledge in one or more of these areas is less critical than exceptional intellectual ability and a demonstrated track record of impact in drug development. 
David Shaw is, among other things, a hedge fund owner. I think it's interesting that he's now attempting to do drug discovery -- the contrast between him and Andy Grove is instructive and commendable.

Albany, NY: AMRI wishes to hire a B.S./M.S. analytical chemist for finished drug dosage form testing, looks like. They are paying 40-65k.

Wilmington, DE: Fish and Richardson are looking to hire technology specialists; a Ph.D. in chemistry with strength in organic chemistry is desired.

You guys are back!: Polyera Corporation (they of the romance novel ads) is back and looking for organic chemists. Here's a position for a Ph.D. synthetic chemist towards organic photovoltaics; they're offering 80-175k. (Um, let me cast doubt on that last number by looking at their Glassdoor profile.)

They're also looking for a B.S./M.S. synthetic chemist, with this interesting comment in their desired characteristics:
Commitment and Tenure. You’re looking to stay in one place for at least 3-5 years. When you find a place you like, you tend to stay with it.
I wonder if the company would make the same commitment that they're requesting of their employees? 

4 comments:

  1. Sometimes I think I've made a lot of poor choices in my life. Then, I think about the people who write Polyera job ads, and things seem better.

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  2. The Aqueous LayerMay 1, 2013 at 12:40 PM

    What exactly are World Class credentials, and how much more is he willing to pay for them than what these folks are already making?

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  3. CJ, to answer your question about if Polyera is willing to make the same level of commitment ask they are asking for, I regret to inform you that no they are not. A friend of mine locked down a position there only to have it rescinded when he told them that he was hoping to apply for faculty positions the next year (not in the US). They said they needed him to commit to at least two years. He agreed to this on the condition that they give him a two year contract, which they refused to do.

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  4. The glassdoor link suggested the CEO made between 135 and 160K. Seems likely they'd pay a chemist 175K, then.....

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looks like Blogger doesn't work with anonymous comments from Chrome browsers at the moment - works in Microsoft Edge, or from Chrome with a Blogger account - sorry! CJ 3/21/20