Founding Lab Director (Co-Founder Track)

Chattanooga, TN (On-site)

Negotiable Guaranteed Base 

 or 30% Profit Share (Year 1) → Up to 30% Equity (post Year 1)

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Senior Scientist or Laboratory Director with deep expertise in regulated environments (GMP, GLP, ISO 17025) to lead the scientific foundation of a high-growth analytical laboratory focusing on GLP-1 agonists and novel peptides.

Since launching in 2023 as a partnership with TrustPointe Analytics, we generated seven figures in revenue in our first full year of operations by bringing pharmaceutical-grade rigor to the consumer peptide market. We are now launching our next chapter as a standalone Chattanooga, TN laboratory, with a mission to become the premier consumer-facing analytical lab in the US.

This is not a standard "employee" role. It is an opportunity to escape the bureaucracy of large-scale pharma, build your own Quality Management System from the ground up, and secure up to 30% equity ownership in a profitable, scaling business.

Your Mandate

You will be the scientific architect of the company. You will transition us from a shared-lab model to a fully independent, world-class facility. You will own the analytical strategy, from instrument qualification and method validation to the eventual accreditation of the laboratory.

Phase 1: Foundation & Validation

  • • Strategic Buildout: Lead the selection, procurement, and qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) of the laboratory’s instrument fleet (primarily LC-MS) in a capital efficient manner.
  • • Method Development: Develop and validate robust LC-MS methods for peptide purity, identification, and quantification in accordance with USP <1225> and ICH guidelines.
  • • Digital Infrastructure: Oversee the implementation of LIMS (Senaite or similar) and establish data automation protocols to efficiently go from chromatographic results to final CoAs.
  • • Hands-on Leadership: Perform sample analysis and data review during the startup phase, setting the standard for precision and throughput.

Phase 2: Scale & Accreditation

  • • Quality Systems: Design and implement a QMS compliant with ISO 17025 standards to prepare the lab for future accreditation.
  • • Team Building: Recruit, train, and mentor a team of analytical chemists and technicians as sample volume scales.
  • • Technical Authority: Serve as the primary scientific liaison for key accounts, translating complex analytical data into actionable insights for clients.

Qualifications

  • • Education: M.S. or Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry or a related life science discipline.
  • • Experience: 5+ years of hands-on HPLC-MS experience, preferably in a cGMP Pharmaceutical or ISO 17025 accredited environment.
  • • Technical Mastery: Deep familiarity with instrument troubleshooting, maintenance, and calibration. You are comfortable evaluating secondary-market instrumentation and restoring it to validated operational status.
  • • Regulatory Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of USP, FDA, and ISO guidelines regarding method validation and documentation.
  • • The "Builder" Mindset: You are tired of being a cog in a machine. You want the autonomy to make decisions fast, design your own workflows, and directly reap the financial rewards of your hard work.
  • • Consumer Facing: Prior experience with consumer-facing science roles, client education, or scientific content creation is a bonus.

Why This Role?

  • • Real Equity: We offer a clear path to 30% co-founder equity. You aren't just building a lab; you are building your asset.
  • • Proven Revenue: Unlike most biotech startups, we have immediate cash flow and a proven product-market fit.
  • • Autonomy: No red tape. No legacy SOPs that don't make sense. You set the scientific standard.
  • • Lifestyle: Chattanooga is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the US—world-class climbing, hiking, and water sports with a low cost of living and no state income tax.

Compensation Structure

  • • Year 1 (Probationary): 30% of net laboratory proceeds or monthly base (whichever is higher). To ensure stability during the buildout, we provide a guaranteed monthly base (annualized at up to –$85k DOE).
  • • Equity Vesting: Upon successful completion of the 12-month foundational phase, you become eligible for up to 30% equity partnership.
  • • Long-Term: Unlimited income upside based on lab throughput and profit sharing.

Very Important Info About Group Payments

Group Payment Information: To allow groups to split the cost of testing among multiple people, we built a custom payment system using Shopify. Because Shopify does not support open-ended contribution amounts, each payment amount must be created as its own individual option (for example: $5, $10, $15, etc.). Offering every possible dollar amount would require hundreds of separate payment options, making the ordering process impractical for both customers and our staff. For that reason, contributions are offered in $5 increments, which means the total amount collected may occasionally exceed the exact cost of the test.

Please plan your group's contributions accordingly. If an overpayment occurs, any refund can only be issued to one original payment transaction and cannot be divided among multiple contributors. Locating, verifying, reconciling, and processing refunds across multiple individual transactions is not practical within our automated group testing system and requires significant manual administrative work.

The payment designated to receive any potential refund must be large enough to accommodate the entire refund amount. For example, if your group may overpay by $40, at least one participant should make a payment of $40 or more. A $40 refund cannot be issued to a $20 payment, nor can it be split between two $20 payments.

By submitting payment through the group testing system, you acknowledge and agree that any refund of an overpayment will be issued to a single original payment transaction only. Please help us avoid unnecessary administrative issues by planning your group's payments accordingly. This allows us to continue offering the group testing system without charging additional service fees.