Founding Lab Director / Senior Analytical Chemist
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Position: Full-Time, On-Site
Compensation: $125,000 to $160,000+ annually, depending on experience, with performance bonus potential
About the Opportunity
We are building a new independent analytical testing laboratory in Memphis, Tennessee, focused on high-quality pharmaceutical, peptide, nutraceutical, biotechnology, and raw-material testing.
We are seeking our first and most important scientific hire: an experienced analytical chemist and laboratory leader who can help build the laboratory from the ground up.
This is not a traditional role where you will walk into an established laboratory and simply manage existing procedures.
You will work directly with ownership to determine which analytical platforms we purchase, how the laboratory is designed, which methods and workflows are implemented, what quality systems are established, and which additional scientists and technicians are hired as the company grows.
Our initial capabilities are expected to include HPLC/UHPLC testing for purity and quantitative assay, LC-MS for identity and characterization, endotoxin testing, and microbiological/rapid sterility testing.
The long-term goal is to develop a nationally recognized independent analytical testing laboratory serving multiple regulated industries.
Primary Responsibilities
The Founding Lab Director will:
- Help design the analytical laboratory and overall workflow
- Recommend HPLC/UHPLC, LC-MS, microbiology, and supporting instrumentation
- Evaluate equipment manufacturers, configurations, software, service contracts, and purchasing decisions
- Develop and optimize analytical methods
- Establish peptide purity, assay, and identity testing capabilities
- Oversee implementation of endotoxin and microbiological testing
- Create SOPs, analytical procedures, documentation systems, and laboratory policies
- Establish sample receiving, preparation, testing, review, COA issuance, and chain-of-custody workflows
- Lead instrument installation, qualification, calibration, maintenance, and troubleshooting
- Develop appropriate reference-standard and reagent programs
- Establish procedures for OOS investigations, deviations, CAPA, data review, and quality control
- Help select and implement a laboratory information management system
- Build laboratory capacity and throughput as sample volume increases
- Recruit, train, and supervise future chemists, microbiologists, and laboratory technicians
- Help ownership develop new analytical services and testing packages
- Support future ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation and other applicable quality standards
- Serve as the primary scientific authority for the laboratory
Ideal Background
We are looking for someone with significant hands-on analytical laboratory experience who is equally comfortable operating instruments and building laboratory systems.
Preferred qualifications include:
- Master's degree or PhD in Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a related discipline
- Exceptional candidates with a bachelor's degree and extensive directly relevant industry experience will also be considered
- 7+ years of analytical chemistry experience
- Strong hands-on experience with HPLC and/or UHPLC
- Experience with quantitative assay and purity testing
- Experience developing, transferring, qualifying, or validating analytical methods
- Experience with LC-MS or LC-MS/MS strongly preferred
- Experience analyzing peptides, pharmaceuticals, APIs, biologics, nutraceuticals, or similar compounds strongly preferred
- Experience working within GMP, ISO 17025, pharmaceutical QC, CRO/CDMO, or another structured quality environment
- Experience reviewing chromatographic data and investigating unexpected results
- Strong understanding of laboratory documentation and data integrity
Experience with pharmaceutical microbiology, USP sterility testing, rapid microbiological methods, endotoxin testing, or laboratory accreditation is highly desirable.
What Makes This Role Different
This position offers considerably more responsibility and influence than a traditional Senior Chemist or Laboratory Manager role.
You will have a direct voice in:
Which instruments we purchase
How the laboratory is designed
Which testing services we launch
How analytical methods are developed
Which scientists we hire
How the quality system is built
How the laboratory scales nationally
The right candidate will effectively become the scientific architect of the company.
Initial Laboratory Vision
Our initial service platform is expected to include:
Analytical Chemistry
- HPLC/UHPLC purity testing
- Quantitative assay
- Related-substance analysis
- Raw-material testing
- Stability and degradation analysis
Mass Spectrometry
- Molecular identity confirmation
- Molecular-weight verification
- Peptide and small-molecule characterization
- Impurity investigation
Microbiology
- Endotoxin testing
- Sterility testing
- Rapid microbiological testing
- Additional microbial quality testing as capabilities expand
Future Capabilities
The laboratory may eventually expand into:
- GC-MS
- ICP-MS
- Heavy-metal testing
- Residual-solvent testing
- Stability programs
- Supplement testing
- Pharmaceutical release testing
- Cosmetics and personal-care testing
- Custom analytical method development
- Contract research and analytical services
Who We Are Looking For
The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial and wants to build, not simply manage.
You should be comfortable walking into an empty laboratory space and answering questions such as:
"What instruments should we purchase?"
"What configuration should we use?"
"What should our initial testing menu look like?"
"How should samples move through the laboratory?"
"What personnel do we need next?"
"How many samples can this laboratory realistically process?"
"What systems need to exist before we begin issuing analytical reports?"
We are looking for someone who can combine strong scientific judgment with practical business thinking.
Compensation
Expected base compensation is $125,000 to $160,000+, depending on qualifications and directly relevant experience.
Additional compensation may include:
- Performance-based bonus
- Paid time off
- Health benefits
- Relocation assistance for exceptional candidates
- Long-term advancement opportunities as the laboratory expands
For an exceptional candidate with extensive pharmaceutical analytical leadership, LC-MS, microbiology, method-development, and laboratory startup experience, compensation may exceed the stated range.
Career Opportunity
This individual will have the opportunity to grow from Founding Lab Director into a senior scientific leadership position as the organization expands.
We are looking for someone interested in helping build a laboratory they can be proud of, assembling their own team, establishing a strong scientific culture, and creating an analytical organization designed to operate for decades.
Memphis, Tennessee | Full-Time | On-Site
Pay: $125,000.00 - $160,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Relocation assistance
- Vision insurance
People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply
Work Location: In person
