Senior Staff Scientist, Organic Synthesis - Burlington, Canada - InsideHigherEd

Description

Senior Staff Scientist, Organic Synthesis

Date Posted: 02/29/2024

Req ID: 36245

Faculty/Division: Faculty of Arts & Science

Department: Acceleration Consortium

Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Description: The Acceleration Consortium (AC) at the University of Toronto (U of T) is leading a transformative shift in scientific discovery that will accelerate technology development and commercialization. The AC is a global community of academia, industry, and government that leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, materials sciences, and high-throughput chemistry to create self-driving laboratories (SDLs), also called materials acceleration platforms (MAPs). These autonomous labs rapidly design materials and molecules needed for a sustainable, healthy, and resilient future, with applications ranging from renewable energy and consumer electronics to drugs. AC Senior Staff Scientists will advance the field of AI-driven autonomous discovery and develop the materials and molecules required to address society's largest challenges, such as climate change, water pollution, and future pandemics. The Acceleration Consortium (AC) promotes inclusive research environment and supports the EDI priorities of the unit. Hiring is occurring on a rolling intake. Please apply ASAP and do not wait for the listed job closing date. The Acceleration Consortium received a $200M Canadian First Research Excellence Grant for seven years to develop self-driving labs for chemistry and materials, the largest ever grant to a Canadian University. This grant will provide the Acceleration Consortium with seven years of funding to execute its vision. The AC is developing seven advanced SDLs. These include: SDL1 - Inorganic solid-state compounds for advanced materials and energy SDL2 - Organic small molecules for sustainability and health SDL3 - Medicinal chemistry for improving small molecule drug candidates SDL4 - Polymers for materials science and biological applications SDL5 - Formulations for pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and coatings SDL6 - Biocompatibility with organoids / organ-on-a-chip SDL7 - Synthetic scale-up of materials and molecules (University of British Colombia partner lab) A central AI and Automation lab to support all the SDLs This role is for a Senior Staff Scientist within SDL2: Organic Expertise that is desired: Organic small molecules expertise
• Multi-step synthesis and purification of complex small molecules
• High-throughput organic synthesis, purification, and processing
• Characterization of small molecules using a variety of techniques
• Enabling synthetic technologies (e.g., flow chemistry, photochemistry, electrochemistry, etc) Additional expertise that is desired (but not required): Artificial intelligence / automation expertise
• Machine learning to accelerate the discovery of molecules and materials
• Robotics and automation
• Experimental planning and design/optimization
• Programming and high-performance computing The Senior Staff Scientists will work with a diverse team of leading experts at U of T, including: Professors Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Sophie Rousseaux, and more. The Senior Staff Scientists involved in the AC are highly skilled and experienced researchers who will work independently to develop the AI and automation technologies required to build robust and scalable self-driving labs, manage these SDLs, and design and implement research programs (based on the direction of the AC's scientific leadership team) that leverage the SDL platforms to discover materials and molecules. Senior Staff Scientists will play a leadership role within the AC research enterprise; and set objectives and directions for a subgroup of Staff Scientists. These positions involve a significant degree of autonomy and latitude on how to achieve the ambitious goals of the AC. This role will report to the Academic Director and Executive Director of the Acceleration Consortium. We are looking for individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise to support the development of self-driving labs and materials discovery. The components and duties of the work include: SDL and Automation Development Working with the AC community, including faculty and partners to determine the required capabilities of the SDLs to be built. Developing the plans for SDLs that will meet user requirements and designing novel instruments for automated material synthesis and characterization. Developing customized hardware and Python software packages to build SDLs. Selection, procurement, and installation of the equipment required for SDLs. Facility Management and Operations Working with the department of Chemistry, Facilities and Operations, and AC research staff to ensure that the AC labs are fully operational. Overseeing the activity of the laboratory technicians servicing the labs Supporting the selection, procurement, and installation of equipment Managing laboratory budgets Scheduling and coordinating lab access Research Direction Working as a co-investigator, in partnership with the Principal Investigator, independent management, development, and execution of research programs that leverage the AC's SDLs and supports the research objectives of AC faculty and industry partners. Using SDLs to synthesize and characterize large quantities of candidate molecules, calibrating theoretical models with experimental data, predicting promising candidates with computational tools and machine learning algorithms, and elucidating structure-property relationships of emerging molecules, polymers, solid-state materials, formulations, etc. Tasks include: Managing the research and development projects of AC's industry partners when implemented in AC labs. Developing plans that support research collaborations and planning and estimating financial resources required for programs and/or projects. Supervising the work of Staff Scientists, Software Engineers, Research Associates, and Post-doctoral Fellows. Working with Product Managers to ensure research outcomes meet partner requirements. Monitoring and reporting on relevant research activity to the Academic Director and Executive Director. Promoting AC's research capacity, including delivering presentations at conferences. Collaboration in the preparation and submission of research proposals to granting agencies and progress reporting. Preparing manuscripts for submission to peer review publications/journals and stewarding them through the process. Other Supporting consulting services related to the application of SDLs for materials discovery for the AC's partners. Support research-focused events such as the Annual Symposium. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Education – Ph.D. in chemistry, materials science, life sciences, physics, engineering, robotics, computer science, or related discipline Experience Over 10 years of experience in research and development Experience working closely with a Principal Investigator or as a Principal Investigator, or as a Project Director with responsibilities of managing, developing and executing a major research project Strong experience and expert knowledge of AI and automation. Experience with the development of self-driving laboratories and overseeing the activities of a lab Experience working with industry partners and on industry led research and development projects Strong experience presenting research at academic conferences Experience managing research staff Experience managing a laboratory budget and procuring equipment Must have a strong scholarly publication record Skills Strong and effective communicator in oral and written English Collegial in working with team members and collaborators Ability to work independently Other Demonstrated success in the writing and preparation of manuscripts, presentations, reports, briefs, and scientific abstracts and manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority Closing Date: 03/31/2024, 11:59PM ET Employee Group: Research Associate Appointment Type : Grant - Continuing Schedule: Full-Time Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone: 150K - 180K (salary will be assessed based on skills and experince) Job Category: Administrative / Managerial

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All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectively address and serve the interests of our global community. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission. As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see

Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission. The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities. If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact

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