Emerging Threats Chemist

The Non-Kinetic Effects Business Area, part of the Defense Sector at Leidos, currently has an opening for an Emerging Threat Chemist at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) facility located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. This is an exciting opportunity to use your synthetic chemistry and toxicology experience to advance the DEVCOM CBC Threat Agent Sciences Mission across programs in environmental response, employment characterization, and chemical agent first-look applications. 

Under this role, you will work with both Federal Government staff / officials and other Leidos personnel to perform initial hazard assessments of emerging threats by evaluating synthesis routes; physical and chemical properties; stability; and preliminary toxicological considerations.  You may also be tasked with assessment of the persistence, degradation, environmental impacts, and hazards associated with threat materials following dissemination or environmental exposure. This position joins Leidos’ portfolio of support to DEVCOM CBC, including basic and applied research, development, testing and evaluation, and training efforts to support the U.S. Warfighter and ensure our Warfighters maintain battlefield dominance during a chemical and/or biological event.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Support new and ongoing research programs within the First Look, Employment Characterization, and Environmental Response portfolios as a principal investigator, technical lead, or research team member to meet program goals and objectives.
• Routinely participate in agent operations as a primary or secondary operator. Activities may include chemical synthesis, instrumental analysis and testing, and controlled environmental-exposure experiments.
• Analyze samples from a range of matrices—including vapor, soil, water, and tissue—for target compounds and degradation products using analytical instrumentation and methods such as:
  • Thermal desorption
  • Pyrolysis
  • Gas chromatography with flame photometric detection (GC-FPD)
  • Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
  • Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
  • Tandem liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

• Prepare analytical standards from surety material to support instrument calibration and calibration-verification requirements.
• Determine and evaluate chemical physical properties, including vapor pressure, solubility, density, viscosity, surface tension, flash point, thermal stability, partition coefficient, and acid dissociation constant.
• Develop, revise, and maintain laboratory procedures, test plans, research documentation, and technical reports.
• Support laboratory management activities, including equipment and supply inventory, chemical tracking, waste-disposal coordination, and maintenance of laboratory procedures and records.
• Prepare monthly progress reports and maintain routine communication with program customers, stakeholders, and internal technical teams.

Basic Qualifications:

• BS degree with 5+ years experience in a chemistry, analytical chemistry, environmental science, chemical engineering, toxicology, materials science, or a related scientific discipline.
• Experience conducting laboratory research involving hazardous materials, chemical analysis, environmental fate, chemical properties, or related technical areas.
• Working knowledge of chromatographic and mass-spectrometric analytical techniques, particularly GC-MS, LC-MS, and LC-MS/MS.
• Experience preparing analytical standards, performing instrument calibration, and supporting quality-control or calibration-verification activities.
• Ability to develop laboratory procedures, test plans, technical reports, and progress updates.
• Demonstrated attention to laboratory safety, chemical inventory control, waste-management procedures, and documentation requirements.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary research environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical findings to customers and program stakeholders.
• Candidate must be a U.S Citizen.
• Candidate must obtain a U.S. Department of Defense Secret Clearance.
• Enrollment in and maintenance of DEVCOM CBC's Chemical Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) certification may be a required condition of this position.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MS degree with 2+ years experience in aforementioned technical fields.
• Prior experience working across multiple program areas under one role.
• Previous experience with/enrollment in chemical safety and monitoring programs, such as DEVCOM CBC’s Personnel Reliability Program (PRP). 

NKE

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

Pay Range:

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.