What does an analytical research chemist do?
An Analytical Research Chemist works on analyzing and interpreting data generated from experiments to aid other research. They organize and produce reports and findings, which scientists will use to create principles, ideas, and strategies in the scientific field. Included in a research chemist's primary responsibilities are the maintenance of the laboratory, organizing documents, and inventory of supplies and equipment.
Analytical research chemist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real analytical research chemist resumes:
- Manage an elemental analytical laboratory that include operating, maintaining and troubleshooting an ICP-OES, ICPMS, MXRF, and IC.
- Maintain laboratory instrumentation (HPLC).
- Gain experience of working in GLP environment.
- Perform hands-on HPLC methods, cleaning validations, and finish product testing
- Maintain equipment logbooks for laboratory instruments toward compliance of cGMP and GLP.
- Develop numerous LC and GC analytical methods for drug product components and formulations.
- Process impurity analysis/CHO host cell protein contamination using ELISA.
- Operate GC, potentiometric analysis and other wet chemical methods routinely.
- Develop new FTIR imaging methodology for the analysis of friction material components.
- Perform calibration, troubleshooting, and repairs on laboratory instrumentation using ASTM and ISO methodologies.
- Perform analysis for mercury determination by AA mercury analyzer including maintenance of instrument and preparation of reagents.
- Provide technical consultation/service/training regarding NMR analysis and data interpretation.
- Full knowledge of wet chemistry and inorganic chemistry techniques including EPA-600, SW846, ASTM methods for testing environmental samples.
- Develop structure-activity relationships (SAR) for lead structures!
- Develop and modify new and/or existing products according to customer/sales & marketing requirements while ensuring they meet require ASTM standards.
Analytical research chemist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Analytical Research Chemists are proficient in Liquid Chromatography, R, and HPLC. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Analytical Research Chemists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Liquid Chromatography, 12%
Developed methods for separation of complex mixtures and purification of a large catalog of compounds by high pressure liquid chromatography.
- R, 9%
Participate in the preparation of deviation reports as necessary for submission to R &D Management.
- HPLC, 7%
Performed hands-on HPLC methods, cleaning validations, and finished product testing
- GC, 5%
Operated GC, potentiometric analysis and other wet chemical methods routinely.
- Ms, 5%
Develop an MS ACCESS database to list all laboratory chemicals/standards/equipment/MSDS, and monitor inventory.
- Analytical Techniques, 4%
Task-led and coordinated multiple analytical techniques to solve challenges in manufacturing and drive new product innovation.
Common skills that an analytical research chemist uses to do their job include "liquid chromatography," "r," and "hplc." You can find details on the most important analytical research chemist responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for an analytical research chemist to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what analytical research chemists do because "chemists and materials scientists need to evaluate the results of experiments to ensure accuracy in their research." Additionally, an analytical research chemist resume shows how analytical research chemists use analytical skills: "organized scientific data and files for fda review. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform analytical research chemist duties is interpersonal skills. Analytical research chemists responsibilities require that "chemists and materials scientists typically work on teams and need to be cooperative." Analytical research chemists also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "demonstrated interpersonal skills by working with medicinal chemists to solve chemistry problems inherent in scale-up of organic reactions. "
Math skills. analytical research chemists are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to analytical research chemist responsibilities, because "chemists and materials scientists regularly use calculus, algebra, statistics, and other math for calculations." An analytical research chemist resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "performed quantitative organic extractions and structure determination. "
Organizational skills. A big part of what analytical research chemists do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to analytical research chemist responsibilities because "chemists and materials scientists must document processes carefully when conducting experiments, tracking outcomes, and analyzing results." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical analytical research chemist tasks: "prioritized chemistry research and gave scientific advice in order to improve organizational efficiency. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for an analytical research chemist to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what analytical research chemists relies on this skill, since "chemists’ and materials scientists’ work involves posing questions during research and finding answers through results." How this skill relates to analytical research chemist duties can be seen in an example from an analytical research chemist resume snippet: "acted on a usp request to generate a dissolution procedure for an alternative dosage form. "
Time-management skills. While "time-management skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to analytical research chemist responsibilities. Much of what an analytical research chemist does relies on this skill, seeing as "chemists and materials scientists usually need to meet deadlines and must be able to prioritize tasks while maintaining quality." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of analytical research chemists: "performed and maintained 98 % on time, turn around for pretest sample preparation prior to analysis. "
The three companies that hire the most analytical research chemists are:
- Sasol Chemicals (USA) LLC2 analytical research chemists jobs
- Shell Energy North America
1 analytical research chemists jobs
- Shell Trading1 analytical research chemists jobs
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Compare different analytical research chemists
Analytical research chemist vs. Chemist, development
A development chemist is responsible for delivering products that are specially created for a customer. You will be responsible for conducting qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses for process or quality control. Other tasks that you will perform include researching chemical substances, conducting laboratory experiments, and evaluating the effects of chemical compounds in different situations. Additionally, you will be responsible for determining chemical properties by analyzing compounds and helping resolve quality issues. As a development chemist, you are also responsible for evaluating safety procedures in laboratories and maintaining laboratory equipment.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an analytical research chemist are more likely to require skills like "gc," "ms," "analytical techniques," and "lc-ms." On the other hand, a job as a chemist, development requires skills like "method development," "technical support," "analytical procedures," and "gc-ms." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Chemists, development tend to reach similar levels of education than analytical research chemists. In fact, chemists, development are 3.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Analytical research chemist vs. Product development chemist
Chemists are generally responsible for observing and investigating chemical substances to create new and safe compounds essential for practical applications. They are often grouped depending on a particular area of specialization to focus and understand the complexities of the matter. A chemist usually takes time performing research and conducting experiments to test and further improve the quality and usage of a specific chemical substance. Chemists are expected to write on their observations and findings to establish scientific results.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real analytical research chemist resumes. While analytical research chemist responsibilities can utilize skills like "gc," "ms," "analytical techniques," and "analytical laboratory," product development chemists use skills like "lab equipment," "analytical methods," "qc," and "iso."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Product development chemists tend to reach similar levels of education than analytical research chemists. In fact, they're 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for analytical research chemists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Betsy Smith
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College
Analytical research chemist vs. Chemist
Laboratory Chemists are licensed scientists who work with chemicals. They are usually found in academic institutions or research facilities. Laboratory Chemists create experiments based on the needs of the institution or company. They mix different chemicals to make the desired results. They would also analyze compounds borne out of the different mixtures and record their observations. They tabulate the results and present these to the body. Laboratory Chemists should have good organization skills. They should be able to document their experiments properly. This would help the company and future researchers.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an analytical research chemist is likely to be skilled in "analytical laboratory," "lc-ms," "laboratory equipment," and "analytical instrumentation," while a typical chemist is skilled in "chemistry," "lab equipment," "test results," and "method development."
Chemists typically earn lower educational levels compared to analytical research chemists. Specifically, they're 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Analytical research chemist vs. Laboratory chemist
Types of analytical research chemist
Updated January 8, 2025
