Job Description

We have an exciting opportunity for a Cheminformatics Lead Research Scientist II at UL Research Institutes Chemical Insights Research Institute (CIRI), based in our Morrisville, NC facility. The Cheminformatics Lead Research Scientist develops and applies advanced cheminformatics workflows to support the UL Research Institutes' Chemical Insights mission of advancing human and environmental health. This role focuses on developing requisite datasets and databases for characterizing chemicals with potential human exposure, including structure-based predictions for physiochemical properties, toxicological responses, toxicokinetic properties, and exposure-related functional uses. The Cheminformatics Lead Research Scientist works closely with CIRI scientists and external collaborators to deliver high-quality scientific outputs that inform chemical safety, risk assessment, regulatory policy, and public awareness.

What you’ll learn and achieve:

As the Cheminformatics Lead Research Scientist II , you will play a key role in the rapid growth of UL as you:

• Design and implement innovative cheminformatic research initiatives linking chemical structure and physical properties to hazard and exposure.

• Leads development of curated databases containing chemical structural representations, chemical identifiers, and physicochemical properties to expand understanding of chemicals with potential human exposure.

• Develops and applies advanced cheminformatic workflows to create chemical structural representations, descriptor calculations, chemical taxonomy/classification, and physicochemical properties, working with software and data engineers to ensure reproducibility.

• Leads and manages chemical curation efforts, both manual and computational, and collaborates with analytical chemists to incorporate curated chemical structures and properties into non-targeted analysis workflows.

• Collaborates with and supports toxicologists, exposure scientists, and toxicokinetic scientists to provide high-quality chemistry information for linking cross-disciplinary data and computational modeling.

• Builds machine learning-based quantitative structure-activity relationship models for physicochemical properties, analytical chemistry, toxicological endpoints, toxicokinetic properties, and exposure-related functional uses as needed.

• Provide scientific and technical expertise in chemistry and cheminformatics to support chemical safety research projects, chemical prioritization efforts, and the development of software applications and decision-support tools.

• Writes clean, maintainable, and well-documented code, following best practices and coding standards.

• Stay current with emerging trends, technologies, and scientific literature in cheminformatic methods and workflows.

• Present research findings at scientific conferences, stakeholder meetings, and technical forums, and serve as author on technical reports and peer-reviewed publications.

• Assist in writing research proposals and securing funding from internal and external sources.

• Mentor and guide junior researchers, post-doctoral scientists, and interns in cheminformatics methods, chemical curation, and computational modeling approaches.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

What you’ll experience working at UL Research Institutes: We have pursued our mission of working for a safer, more secure, and sustainable world for nearly 130 years, embedding conscientious stewardship into everything we do.

• People: Our people make us special. You’ll work with a diverse team of experts respected for their independence and transparency and build a network, because our approach is collaborative. We collaborate across disciplines, organizations, and geographies to build the global scientific response that today’s global challenges require.

• Interesting work: Every day is different for us here. We see what’s on the horizon and use our expertise to build the foundations of a safer future. You’ll have the opportunity to push the boundaries of human understanding as part of a team working to advance the public good.

• Grow and achieve: We learn, work, and grow together through targeted development, reward, and recognition programs.

• Values. Four core values guide our work: collaboration, respect, integrity, and beneficence. By living our values, we inspire the trust essential to fulfilling our mission and foster the partnerships that enable us to pursue a beneficent future in which we all can thrive.

• Total Rewards: All employees at UL Research Institutes are eligible for bonus compensation. We offer comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans and a generous 401k matching structure of up to 5% of eligible pay. Moreover, we invest an additional 4% into your retirement saving fund after your first year of continuous employment. Depending on your role, you may be able to discuss flexible working arrangements with your manager. We also provide employees with paid time off, including vacation, holiday, sick, and volunteer days.

What makes you a great fit:

While no one candidate will embody every quality, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes:

• Expert-level knowledge in chemistry, cheminformatics, and related scientific disciplines.

• Expert understanding of molecular structure representations, descriptor calculation, and chemical taxonomy/classification.

• Demonstrated contributions related to chemistry topics relevant to toxicology, exposure science, non-targeted analysis, or toxicokinetics.

• Proficiency in Python, R, and/or Java, along with experience using or creating SQL, noSQL, or other database solutions.

• Demonstrated ability to independently execute cheminformatic workflows and oversee all research project phases from design to dissemination.

• Proven track record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at scientific meetings.

• Clearly communicate complex chemistry and cheminformatic concepts to diverse technical and non-technical audiences and translate findings into actionable insights.

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to integrate chemical structural and property data with broader public health research.

• Ability to collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary teams.

• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop junior scientists, post-doctoral researchers, and interns while fostering a collaborative research environment.

 Professional education and experience requirements for the role include:

• PhD in chemistry, computational chemistry, or a related field.

• Minimum 8 years of post-graduate experience in cheminformatics, computational chemistry, or related disciplines.

• Demonstrated experience in developing cheminformatic workflows using code to manage and utilize chemical structural representations, descriptor calculations, chemical taxonomy/classification, and physicochemical properties in chemical safety applications.

• Direct experience in chemistry sufficient to lead chemical structure and property curation.

• Experience in developing structure-based methods for selecting representative chemicals from larger chemical space.

• Experience developing machine-learning based models for predicting hazard or physical properties from chemical structure.

• Proven track record of peer-reviewed publications, technical presentations to diverse audiences, and service on expert panels.

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