Director, Discovery Chemistry

FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company dedicated to helping growers produce food, feed, fiber and fuel for an expanding world population while adapting to a changing environment. FMC's innovative crop protection solutions – including biologicals, crop nutrition, digital and precision agriculture – enable growers, crop advisers and turf and pest management professionals to address their toughest challenges economically while protecting the environment. With approximately 6,400 employees at more than 100 sites worldwide, FMC is committed to discovering new herbicide, insecticide and fungicide active ingredients, product formulations and pioneering technologies that are consistently better for the planet.

FMC is a globally diverse organization that offers its employees exciting opportunities to work on challenging projects that are important to the achievement of our strategic objectives.  With a corporate culture of innovation, integrity, responsibility and customer intimacy, we foster “The Right Chemistry” in everything we do. We are looking for people to join us in creating, developing, and improving our products, our processes, and our markets. If you are ready to make a difference every day, FMC is ready to talk to you.  Visit FMC to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

FMC is seeking a Director of Discovery Chemistry at Stine Research Center in Newark, DE.  We are an R&D-based business, dependent upon the introduction of new products to deliver a competitive advantage in the agrochemical industry. The Discovery Chemistry organization employs synthetic organic chemists to design and synthesize new high-performance crop protection molecules that may lead to new commercial products. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, the successful candidate will lead a team of scientists and managers that design, synthesize and optimize chemistry solutions for effective crop pest management. In this position, the Director of Discovery Chemistry has responsibility to work with regional FMC chemistry resources and contract organizations while developing the overall small molecules strategy and establishing priorities to ensure appropriate communication across the organization. As Director of Discovery Chemistry, you will be part of a team that is adopting the mindset, agility and processes of a technology company while drawing on our 100+ years of experience in agriculture. We welcome you, your ideas, and your enthusiasm.

Responsibilities:

• Advance and shape FMC’s Discovery pipeline.
• Manage a portfolio of discovery programs (hits and leads) in effective collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Implement and execute discovery strategies to maintain and advance high quality molecules that align with corporate goals.
• Effectively collaborate with key stakeholders tailoring communications to meet the business needs of the audience.
• Accountable for ensuring discovery chemistry meets FMC financial targets by budgeting and forecasting of out of pocket spend. Drives financial awareness and responsibility to all staff.
• Reinforce and assure consistent adherence to FMC’s safety policies and core values.

Required Education and Experience

• Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry with 10 years of discovery experience in agrochemical, pharmaceutical or fine chemical industries.

Qualifications:

• Chemistry expert with demonstrated ability to integrate toward successful project progression.
• Proven track record for the advancement of research projects towards development and commercialization.
• Experience working in geographically distributed teams.
• Experience in working with external CROs.
• Strong leadership abilities and experience working in a dynamic multidisciplinary environment.
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills.

At FMC, diversity and inclusion are in our DNA. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where all employees can thrive – regardless of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, citizenship status, color, age, religion or religious creed, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. FMC also supports employee participation in company employee resource groups that celebrate the diverse backgrounds of our workforce by providing communities for employees to connect with each other and raise awareness throughout FMC. FMC complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact our Talent Acquisition department.