Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) Associate in Automated Organic Synthesis

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated chemist to join a collaborative Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) project between the University of Bath and Almac Discovery Limited, a leading early-stage drug discovery company within the Almac Group.

About the role

The project will establish an automated workflow for rapid production of novel small-molecule libraries, enabling Almac Discovery to accelerate early-stage drug discovery, reduce reliance on outsourced compound synthesis, and strengthen its capability to identify promising new medicines more quickly and cost-effectively.

Whilst working on this unique project as an AKT Associate, applying your academic skills to an industrially focused project, you will broaden your knowledge and expertise, and be supported by an Industrial and an academic supervisor. 

Working under the supervision of Dr Alex Cresswell, Reader in Organic Chemistry and Co-Lead of the Bath Centre for Drug Discovery, and Dr Colin O'Dowd, Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry at Almac Discovery, you will play a key role in transferring innovative automated synthesis methodologies into an industrial drug discovery environment.

As the AKT Associate, you will:

• Demonstrate and optimise automated synthetic chemistry workflows.
• Design and produce representative small-molecule screening libraries.
• Evaluate workflow robustness, reproducibility and operational efficiency.
• Work closely with medicinal chemistry, biology and analytical teams.
• Develop standard operating procedures and supporting documentation.
• Support the transfer of knowledge and capability into Almac Discovery's research teams.
• Contribute to future plans for technology expansion and commercial exploitation.

The post will offer the following benefits:

• Work at the interface of academic innovation and industrial drug discovery.
• Gain experience of technology transfer within a commercially focused research environment.
• Collaborate with world-leading experts in synthetic chemistry and drug discovery.
• Build valuable industrial and translational research experience within the life sciences sector.

We welcome applications from candidates who have: 

• Strong practical expertise in synthetic organic chemistry.
• Experience of reaction optimisation and analytical characterisation.
• The ability to design, execute and interpret complex experimental programmes independently.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to work effectively across academic and industrial environments.

This AKT project is funded by UKRI through Innovate UK. This programme has been designed to create short-term collaborations between a university and business to deliver a rapid and targeted intervention to accelerate the development of an innovation project, with potential for significant impact on the business. AKT projects are delivered by graduates who benefit from the opportunity to work on a strategically relevant project within industry, whilst receiving support and guidance from university academics. More information about the Accelerated Knowledge Transfer programme can be found at: https://www.ktp-uk.org/accelerated-knowledge-transfer/

Further information

Interviews will be held on Friday 23 October.

This is a fixed-term role for a period of 3 months, and the role must start no later than 13 November 2026.

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