Materials & Polymers Domain Specialist
Job description
About the role
Patsnap is at the forefront of enhancing materials science through the development of high-fidelity datasets. This role focuses on extracting valuable information from scientific literature and patents, with an initial emphasis on engineering polymers. As a key player in this initiative, you will oversee the program, manage external vendors, ensure scientific precision, and facilitate the integration of data into our ontology and search systems. This position demands a strong technical background in chemistry to navigate and resolve intricate challenges related to structural and property data.
Key facts
What you'll do
- Lead the polymer curation initiative by establishing annotation standards, defining project timelines, and setting acceptance criteria for both internal and external teams.
- Track and evaluate project performance metrics, including throughput, budget adherence, and error rates, to ensure that pilot objectives are successfully achieved.
- Develop and implement quality control measures, which include gold-standard adjudication processes and assessments of inter-annotator agreement.
- Analyze complex cases that involve Markush structures, composition tables, and measurement contexts to enhance AI extraction techniques and refine dictionary rules.
- Oversee data contracts and normalization protocols while addressing ontology discrepancies in collaboration with the ontology team.
- Collaborate with product and search teams to seamlessly integrate curated relationships into our query and indexing systems.
- Extend the application of quality and delivery standards to broaden the portfolio into other materials domains.
- Provide mentorship and guidance to junior team members, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment.
- Engage with stakeholders to gather feedback and continuously improve the curation process and data quality.
- Participate in cross-functional meetings to align project goals and share insights on data management strategies.
- Stay updated with the latest advancements in materials science and polymer research to inform curation practices.
- Document processes and methodologies to ensure transparency and reproducibility in curation efforts.
Requirements
- A Master's degree in polymer science, chemistry, materials science, or chemical engineering, or a Bachelor's degree with relevant industry experience.
- Strong ability to interpret structural units, including bracket notation, attachment points, and end groups.
- Proficiency in analyzing Markush structures, R-groups, and generic claims found in patents.
- In-depth understanding of various polymer architectures, including linear, branched, block, graft, random, and network structures.
- Expertise in parsing formulation descriptions, encompassing constituent roles, base polymers, additives, and different quantity bases such as weight percent or parts per hundred.
- Skill in accurately linking properties to the appropriate sample or component within complex data tables.
- Demonstrated experience in managing quality through established systems such as ISO, GLP, or formal audit-ready workflows.
- Proven track record of managing projects, teams, or external partners to achieve specific deliverables within set timelines.
Nice to have
- Experience in evaluating AI or machine learning extraction outputs, including performance metrics like precision and recall.
- Background in overseeing distributed or outsourced annotation teams.
- Familiarity with knowledge graphs, OWL, SKOS, or techniques related to entity resolution.
- Proficiency in Python or similar scripting languages for automating quality control and validation processes.
- Knowledge of information retrieval methods or search relevance evaluation techniques.
- Experience with cheminformatics tools, including structure normalization, SMILES, or InChI.
Skills & tools
- Expertise in polymer structure and representation
- Proficient in patent analysis and interpretation
- Strong capabilities in quality control and process management
- Experienced in project and vendor management
- Knowledgeable in data ontology and schema management
Practical notes
Candidates will undergo assessments of their scientific judgment using actual patent examples during the interview process. We offer comprehensive training on curation mechanics, Patsnap's data schemas, patent data conventions, and search evaluation concepts to ensure that all team members are well-equipped to succeed in their roles. This position not only provides an opportunity to work in a dynamic environment but also to contribute significantly to advancements in materials science.
About the company
Patsnap empowers IP and R&D teams by providing better answers, so they can make faster decisions with more confidence. Founded in 2007, Patsnap is the global leader in AI-powered IP and R&D intelligence.