GlaxoSmithKline LLC Posted June 26, 2026

Scientist, Oligonucleotide Synthesis

Cambridge, United States Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research

GlaxoSmithKline LLC is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Business Introduction

At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. Our R&D focuses on discovering and delivering vaccines and medicines, combining our understanding of the immune system with cutting-edge technology to transform people’s lives. GSK fosters a culture ambitious for patients, accountable for impact, and committed to doing the right thing, making sure that we focus our efforts on accelerating significant assets that meet patients’ needs and have the highest probability of success. We’re uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.

Find out more:

Our approach to R&D

Position Summary

The successful candidate will help to establish pre-clinical capabilities within GSK’s growing oligonucleotide synthesis lab. Areas of focus are SPOS of modalities such as ASOs, siRNA, SSO, and RNA editors screening, high-throughput automation, conjugates, and method development. Your expertise will enable us to solve complex chemical challenges, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in oligonucleotide therapeutics.

This role will provide YOU the opportunity to lead key activities to progress YOUR career. These responsibilities include some of the following:

Support pre-clinical oligonucleotide high-throughput and mid-scale synthesis capabilities of ASOs, siRNA, SSO, and RNA editors with routine and novel next generation amidite chemistries.

Perform hands-on work, maintain high-throughput automation workflows in support of routine and next generation chemistry and oligo method development.

Maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for synthesis, processing, and purification to ensure high-quality, reproducible results.

Work with the oligo analytical and delivery chemistry teams to ensure accountability and excellence in oligonucleotide and conjugate synthesis.

Collaborate with various teams to achieve synthetic project goals.

Why You?

Basic Qualification

We are seeking professionals with the following required skills and qualifications to help us achieve our goals:

MS with 2+ or BS with 4+ years of experience in chemistry or chemical biology or related field.

Direct experience with laboratory automation platforms, such as the Lynx from Dynamic Devices, the Fluent from Tecan or other similar platforms.

Familiarity with Mermade 192X, Dr. Oligo 192 XLc, or other high-throughput synthesizers, LC/HRMS, UPHLC, LC/MS analytics.

Proficiency in oligonucleotide synthesis (SPOS), and biological understanding of RNA therapeutics (e.g. ASO, siRNA, SSO, RNA Editors).

Preferred Qualification

If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus:

MS with 2+ years or above in Oligonucleotide synthesis and/or Chemistry and/or related field.

Team-focused with strong initiative and ability to troubleshoot challenges and implement new solutions.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to collaborate effectively with a team are required.

Experience with oligonucleotide conjugation chemistries is desirable but not required.

Sense of urgency, flexibility, independence and accountability.

Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing with all levels both inside and outside of organization.

Maintain a high level of integrity while balancing multiple priorities and responsibilities.

Must be a committed team player prepared to work in and embrace a team-based culture.

Working Arrangement

This is an on-site role based at our Cambridge, MA laboratory location. You will be expected to work in the lab regularly to run and support experimental workflows. Hybrid or remote arrangements are not available for this position.

What you will gain

You will join a collaborative team focused on practical problem solving and scientific learning. You will grow technical skills in oligonucleotide chemistry and automation. You will make measurable contributions to projects with real patient-focused goals. We welcome applicants from varied backgrounds and invite you to bring your perspective to our team.

Ready to apply?

If this role matches your skills and ambitions, please apply. Tell us about your lab experience and the contributions you want to make. We look forward to learning more about you.

#LI-GSK

• If you are based in Cambridge, MA; Waltham, MA; Rockville, MD; or San Francisco, CA, the annual base salary for new hires in this position ranges $96,525 to $160,875. The US salary ranges take into account a number of factors including work location within the US market, the candidate’s skills, experience, education level and the market rate for the role. In addition, this position offers an annual bonus and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program which is dependent on the level of the role. Available benefits include health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, and paid caregiver/parental and medical leave. If salary ranges are not displayed in the job posting for a specific country, the relevant compensation will be discussed during the recruitment process.

Please visit  GSK US Benefits Summary to learn more about the comprehensive benefits program GSK offers US employees.

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive. We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases – to impact health at scale.

People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make, so we’re committed to creating an environment where our people can thrive and focus on what matters most. Our culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact and doing the right thing is the foundation for how, together, we deliver for patients, shareholders and our people.

If you require an accommodation or other assistance to apply for a job at GSK, please contact the appropriate Recruitment Staff by emailing us at -  usrecruitment.adjustments@gsk.com

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.

Important notice to Employment businesses/ Agencies

GSK does not accept referrals from employment businesses and/or employment agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site. All employment businesses/agencies are required to contact GSK's commercial and general procurement/human resources department to obtain prior written authorization before referring any candidates to GSK. The obtaining of prior written authorization is a condition precedent to any agreement (verbal or written) between the employment business/ agency and GSK. In the absence of such written authorization being obtained any actions undertaken by the employment business/agency shall be deemed to have been performed without the consent or contractual agreement of GSK. GSK shall therefore not be liable for any fees arising from such actions or any fees arising from any referrals by employment businesses/agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site.

Please note that if you are a US Licensed Healthcare Professional or Healthcare Professional as defined by the laws of the state issuing your license, GSK may be required to capture and report expenses GSK incurs, on your behalf, in the event you are afforded an interview for employment. This capture of applicable transfers of value is necessary to ensure GSK’s compliance to all federal and state US Transparency requirements. For more information, please visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Cambridge, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 383 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 47 biopharma companies.

383Comparable roles tracked
345Currently active
47Companies hiring similar roles
16Countries represented

Salary context

136 of 383 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $96,525/yr – $160,875/yr
Lowest disclosed · Scientist 1, Oncology | Drug Discovery · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Head, Oncology Drug Discovery – San Diego · Novartis $248,500/yr – $461,500/yr
Peer group range $0 – $355,000 (median $165,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 383 comparable roles

United States303
India17
Germany13
United Kingdom9
Canada9
Switzerland6

+ 10 more countries

Seniority mix

297 of 383 peers have a known seniority level

Senior111
Principal57
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc34
Director26
Associate23
Associate Director21
Senior Director12
Executive/VP8
Manager5

Therapeutic area mix

54 of 383 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology31
Cardiovascular / CVRM10
Immunology6
Neuroscience4
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Respiratory1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
AstraZeneca Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America Executive/VP
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40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Executive/VP
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40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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40%similar
Lilly San Diego, California, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Principal Scientist Drug Product Development
AstraZeneca · Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Postdoctoral Researcher in Translational Oncology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Advisor / Senior Advisor, CNS/PNS NAMs – Investigative Toxicology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director / Sr / Exec Dir - Applied Intelligence for Discovery (AI4D)
Lilly · San Francisco, California, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.