Chemistry Contractor

Company: 

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious and growing global health challenge, affecting approximately 1 in 7 people worldwide. In the absence of effective treatments, patients may progress to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or transplantation—placing a significant burden on patients, families, and healthcare systems. While recent advances have benefited certain subsets of kidney disease patients, many common forms of CKD still lack effective therapeutic options. 
 

At Borealis Biosciences, Patients are our True North. Borealis was founded on the belief that the convergence of scientific and translational breakthroughs can unlock the potential of RNA therapeutics to address some of the most rare and underserved kidney diseases—and beyond. Borealis builds on the success of Chinook Therapeutics, a kidney disease company with a research site in Vancouver that was acquired by Novartis in 2023 for $3.5 billion. The Borealis team has strong leadership and academic advisors with deep experience and expertise in both kidney disease and RNA therapeutics. Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Borealis operates
state-of-the-art wet labs equipped for molecular and cellular biology, in vivo pharmacology, chemistry, DMPK, bioinformatics, and analytical sciences.  

We are a creative and innovative team that strives for excellence in all we do and has fun along the way. Our core focus is on helping patients and advancing science. For more information on Borealis, check out our sites 
https://borealisbio.com & https://www.linkedin.com/company/borealis-biosciences-inc.   

We seek applicants from all backgrounds to ensure we get the best, most innovative talent on our team. We are building a diverse and inclusive workforce – come and be a part of our growth! We strongly encourage candidates with less traditional backgrounds or those who may meet the qualifications in a different way to apply.  

Position: 

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated contract Chemist to support and advance complex chemical workflows within a collaborative research environment. The successful candidate will bring strong hands-on chemistry expertise, contribute to efficient compound registration and inventory management, and enable scalable solid-phase chemistry capabilities to accelerate project progress. 

This is a contract position (35-40 hours per week). We anticipate this position to be up to 6 months fixed term.   

Responsibilities include: 

• Ensure high accuracy, consistency, and throughput in the registration of complex chemical entities, including oligonucleotides, conjugates, and multi-component molecular structures. 

• Improve and maintain compound and inventory organization systems, encompassing intermediates, final materials, and associated metadata. 

• Enable, optimize, and scale solid-phase chemistry workflows to support research and development programs. 

• Provide hands-on general and applied chemistry expertise to support project execution, troubleshooting, and timeline adherence. 

• Collaborate closely with colleagues across chemistry, biology, and operations to maintain momentum across active projects. 

• Contribute to continuous improvement of chemistry-related processes, documentation, and best practices. 

• Demonstrate Borealis’ values, knowing that Patients are our True North: 

• acting with urgency, resilience and creativity to serve patients;   

• being open to new ideas, honest conversations and two-way transparency;   

• staying connected to team members and to science; being kind, humble, and taking risks together. 

Location:  

• This is an on-site position located in Vancouver, BC 

Education, Experience, and Skills: 

Required: 

• PhD, or MSc/BSc with significant experience, in Chemistry, or a closely related scientific discipline. 

• Strong foundational knowledge of general chemistry with demonstrated hands-on laboratory experience. 

• Experience handling complex chemical entities (e.g., oligos, conjugates, or multi-component systems). 

• Familiarity with compound registration systems and chemical inventory management best practices. 

• Proven ability to troubleshoot experimental issues and provide practical, solutions-oriented support. 

Preferred:  

• Experience with solid-phase synthesis or related scalable chemistry platforms. 

• Exposure to cross-functional research environments (e.g., discovery, development, or technology platforms). 

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. 

• Effective communication and collaboration skills in a team-oriented setting. 

Compensation: The hourly rate ranges from $52.00 to $60.00 per hour.