Analytical Chemist
Role Overview:
We are hiring a Chemist to join our chemistry team in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In this role, you will run and troubleshoot HPLC analysis to verify active ingredient content in dietary supplements, ensuring the vitamins, amino acids, and key compounds declared on brand labels are accurate and reliable.
This position involves hands-on instrument operation, from sample prep through running the analysis and interpreting results. You'll work closely with our Principal Chemists to keep testing accurate and on schedule. We operate as a fast-moving startup, so flexibility is key as our processes evolve quickly.
This role reports to the Principal Chemists and works closely with the rest of the team in person. It's full-time, with competitive pay and benefits.
Responsibilities:
- Operate HPLC instrumentation to test active ingredient content across vitamins, amino acids, and other actives
- Prepare and run samples following standard operating procedures
- Interpret and validate results, flagging anomalies before they reach final review
- Maintain and troubleshoot instrument performance, escalating issues as needed
- Keep sample chain of custody and testing records accurate and up to date
- Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work environment
- Collaborate with the team to keep workflow efficient and projects moving on schedule
- Support inventory management and ordering of laboratory supplies as needed
Qualifications:
- BS in Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a related field
- 5+ years of hands-on HPLC experience required
- Experience in a high-throughput laboratory setting is a major advantage
- Proficiency in sample preparation techniques and instrument maintenance
- Coachable, with a strong work ethic and willingness to grow with the team
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Excellent attention to detail and organizational abilities
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
- Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
Benefits:
- Top decile salary
- Equity in the business
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid time off and holidays
- Promote from within approach – career growth opportunities
Who We Are
Light Labs is building the modern-day testing lab. We combine software with physical lab operations to give brands a fast, accurate, and affordable way to test their products, and share that data directly with their customers.
Testing today is a massive, highly profitable industry dominated by legacy operators who built their entire business around fee-for-service testing. That model creates real friction for brands. Buying and testing happens through a clunky, outdated dashboard, samples disappear into a black box until results finally land as a confusing static PDF, and brands are left to manually pull that data into spreadsheets themselves just to handle compliance, quality, or marketing. That legacy model is already highly profitable for the operators running it, so they have little reason to fix any of it.
By integrating the full experience, from testing to sharing that data with customers, we're building a more efficient and streamlined process. Brands can differentiate and become the no-brainer choice in their category through testing and real transparency.
We're a team of experienced founders that have raised $32M from top VCs, with top CPG founders and strategics also coming into the round. Whether you're lab tech, engineer, sales, marketing, or customer support, you'll have a seat at the table as we work to bring transparency to the food system.
Mission
To bring real transparency to the food and consumer goods space so people can buy products that are free of toxic ingredients and actually contain what the label claims. Transparency creates demand for cleaner, honest products, which ultimately forces the supply chain to level itself up.
Almost everything people consume is becoming more toxic and less nutritious, and most people have no way to know it. You can't see, taste, or smell what's actually in a product, and testing it yourself is slow, expensive, and nearly impossible to interpret without a PhD in the area you're testing for.
Because there's no feedback loop, there's no pressure on brands to change. If people knew what was really in their food and products, they'd shop differently. We're building the infrastructure to make that possible.
Pay: $70,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person