Sr Principal Polymer Chemist.

Careers that Change Lives

As a member of the Medtronic Diabetes Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Sensor R&D team, this Sr. Principal will support the technology development for next generation CGM products.

You will be responsible for providing technical leadership to the broader organization, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and driving innovation in materials for application in sensors.

This role will support product development activities that originate from technology development efforts including characterizing physiochemical properties of materials & driving structured pre-clinical and clinical studies.

The candidate should have strong polymer chemistry, organic synthesis, analytical chemistry, material science and communication skills to be successful in this role.

A Day in the Life Responsibilities may include the following and other duties may be assigned.

• Lead and manage research projects focused on the development of new polymer materials and processes for application in enzyme-based, electrochemical biosensor development.
• Design & conduct experiments to synthesize and characterize polymers with desired properties (pore size, charge / surface chemistry, block composition etc) tailored for specific sensing applications.
• Characterize synthesized polymers and formulated materials using advanced analytical techniques such as rheology, thermal analysis, FTIR, NMR, GPC, Gravimetric analyses, mechanical testing etc.
• Perform bulk material characterization in terms of analyte flux, permeability, selectivity, fouling resistance and durability.
• Design and optimize polymeric formulations including material selection, blending and processing for membrane fabrication (spray, spin, slot, dip, casing, molding, surface modification etc) to meet specific sensor performance criteria.
• Leverage design of experiments (DOE) to screen formulation designs; select appropriate analytical / material techniques to develop process-structure-property correlations and characterize product / process.
• Develop and optimize polymerization processes to scale up production while maintaining quality.
• Compile and analyze all data-streams and formulate relevant, scientifically based conclusions; conduct briefings with senior leaders within job function to communicate project updates.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineering, materials, process development, quality and manufacturing to address technical challenges and meet project objectives and timelines.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior chemists and research associates; Effectively delegate work as appropriate.
• Research, identify & recommend emerging innovations aligned with divisional needs and strategic vectors of the team; contribute to IP development through patent filings.
• Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitive landscape in polymer chemistry, materials research and characterization techniques.

Must Have : Minimum Requirements

Bachelors of Polymer Chemistry, Materials Science / Engineering, Organic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or related Sciences / Engineering and 10+ years of relevant experience

Masters of Polymer Chemistry, Materials Science / Engineering, Organic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or related Sciences / Engineering degree and 8+ years of relevant experience

Nice to Have

• PhD in Polymer Chemistry, Materials Science / Engineering, Organic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or related Sciences / Engineering
• Medical device / biotechnology / pharmaceutical industry experience
• Synthesis / development of functional polymer materials / oligomers & various polymerization techniques
• Strong understanding of polymerization kinetics and polymer structure-property relationships, and polymer processing techniques.
• Familiarity with chemical modification of surfaces such as small molecules / biomolecules immobilization, adhesion / bonding of surfaces etc
• Familiarity with a variety of material deposition processes such as spray, spin, dip, slot, extrusion, molding, casting, electropolymerization, electroplating etc
• Familiarity with a variety of material characterization & Surface analysis techniques such as XPS, DSC, TGA, GPC, XRD, SIMS, FTIR, Raman, DMA, TMA, SEM, Optical Microscopy, etc
• Good working knowledge of DOEs and statistical data analysis methods (T-test, ANOVA & significance testing etc)
• Excellent communication / presentation skills, solid writing skills & collaborative interpersonal skills.
• Highly detail-oriented, organized, self-driven showing initiative & ambition.
• Excellent problems solving skills including out-of-the-box thinking in finding solutions to challenges.
• Results-oriented driver with hands-on, can-do mentality & the flexibility to adapt to changes quickly
• Ability to deliver in a fast-paced environment with challenging deadlines to help the company keep its leading edge.
30+ days ago