Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Synthetic chemist wanted for THC extraction

From an astute reader in the comments, a little Tuesday night/Wednesday morning gift:

Production Chemist, Essential Oil Refinement (San Jose, CA)
THE POSITION
Immediate opening for a synthetic chemist with organic and/or inorganic experience to refine essential oils from extracts. Responsibilities include commercial production as well as refinement to existing processes and development of new ones. 
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS
Educational Requirements: Bachelor's degree in chemistry with 2+ years industry experience, or master's degree in chemistry. 
Experience: Knowledge of and experience with derivation and purification of essential oils highly desirable. At a minimum, experience in product purification and isolation of desired compounds. Experience in a commercial production environment highly desirable. 
COMPENSATION
Salary: Starting at $60-$80K, depending on education and relevant experience. Very significant bonuses and salary increases if you successfully solve specific problems, hit target dates, and meet a very reasonable production schedule.  
OTHER BENEFITS
You will have flexible hours and schedule. You'll have an opportunity to work in a small friendly company where a few of us work closely together and enjoy our lives immensely. You will have control over your process. You will get personal respect and recognition from others for your contribution. You'll have say-so in your area of responsibility and a vote in company decisions and direction. Additionally, you'll be part of a red-hot new industry with tremendous upside potential.  
ABOUT THE COMPANY
TetraLabs is a leading, successful, medical cannabis company based in the San Jose area. We have all the required legal documentation, and are considered a "poster child" for regulatory compliance. Our products that are strictly medical. We have operated successfully for six years at a consistent growth rate. We have the highest quality products, best image and most memorable branding in our sector. Although we are small compared to big corporations, we are considered the leading company in our sector. We are the company others try to copy and emulate. Learn more at www.tetralabs.com
I check my pocket that my wallet is still there whenever anyone says "upside potential." That sort of thing makes me suspicious. That said, the legal cannabis industry is undoubtedly growing. Best wishes to whoever might be interested in this position.

(What's the exposure risk for THC in the lab? Stuff's not very volatile, right? (Shows how naive I am.)  

15 comments:

  1. there is a risk of being stopped and cavity-searched at the airports, because the trained dogs will recognize the scent of your clothes.

    Otherwise, 60-80k is decent but not that great: the San Jose area is expensive and the taxes are high...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wonder if they drug test as part of the application process.

    ReplyDelete
  3. lots of amateurs around:
    http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Rash-of-hash-oil-lab-blasts-prompt-warnings-4885920.php
    http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/02/fire-san-diego-ninth-avenue-f-street/

    ReplyDelete
  4. The C+E News article on testing was interesting: http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i49/Chemists-Analyze-Cannabis-Safety-Potency.html Testing for stuff you can't legally possess is...interesting. I love it when governments get passive-aggressive.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What's the exposure risk for THC in the lab? Stuff's not very volatile, right?

    I don't consider myself an expert *wink* -- but THC is created by decarboxylating THCA (tetrahydrocannibinolic acid) via heat. This accounts for the, uh, effects of cannabis when it is smoked or put in food after it is extracted from heated butter/oils. So...as long as you are not heating it or something, there is not much risk for exposure. Just make sure you have water going through your reflux condenser! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. $6o ÷ $8oK appear like just a dream to italian chemists!
    If only San Josè wasn't so far away...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 60k a year in Silicon Valley is going to be something like 36-38k a year after taxes for a single person who is not homeowner. (5% San Jose city tax + 10% California state tax + 8% social security tax + 17% federal tax). In Silicon Valley it will cost you about 2,500 a month to rent one bedroom apartment within a reasonable commute distance, to pay the household bills, pay the car insurance. Presume you are paying off a car loan $250 a month and spend on food (8% tax) and pubs about $500 and gas at $150 a month. You won't be saving to much money on a 60k salary. That presumes that you won't have to pay extra for your health insurance (many small businesses ask their employers to pay for a portion of the cost of health coverage)

      Delete
  7. Chemjobber,

    You wrote "... the legal cannabis industry is undoubtedly growing." Pun intended?

    ReplyDelete
  8. There have been a few opening for chemists in Colorado performing work/analysis with cannabis posted on Craigslist as well. Considering nearly every place with a license to sell recreational cannabis has sold out within 2 weeks and shops are reporting sales in the millions, I'd be inclined to agree there's a huge potential upside. There has been several stories comparing the legalization of recreational cannabis in Washington and Colorado to the gold rush in California.

    Neighboring states haven't taken lightly to Colorado selling recreational cannabis, and Wyoming and Kansas have both setup road blocks on the interstate coming out of Colorado searching for people bringing it out of the state. (Seems like an unlawful stop by law enforcement to me, but I don't know the exact laws of those states to know for sure.)

    Seems like a good opportunity to me, but definitely leave extra time when traveling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you see links, please post them/e-mail them to me. This is an interesting development that I'd love to cover more.

      Delete
    2. I haven't been to a store here myself (even if it's legal here I'll be looking for jobs out of state shortly). Supposedly the vertical integration requirement has really slowed up expansion (shops have to grow 70% of the pot they sell), and here in Boulder there's not been a recreational shop opened yet because of some extra requirements put in place by the city / county. The tracking from seed to sale looks like a good idea and I'll be interested how the testing regulation regime works.
      http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/01/08/colorado-marijuana-stores-see-steady-business-dwindling-inventory/2333/

      Delete
    3. 60-80k in the bay area is nothing. I'd rather not risk my career on a job that pays so little. Nobody with a bachelor has "industry experience in essential oil refinement or the cannabis industry", so they basically want you to have a masters. I also asked a friend that's very into cannabis about the company and he basically said they have a fancy designed overpriced product, and that they have been basically forgotten about. It sounded like maybe the company isn't well managed or growing much. No thank you!

      Delete
  9. I am dying to get into this field. I have zero schooling in chemistry but I am hard working and a extremely fast learner. Currently an electrician. Wondering if anyone here has an insight on a job in the cannabis extract field

    ReplyDelete

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