Synthetic Chemistry - Teaching Assistant Residential Mentor

(Multiple states)
Temporary
Faculty
Experienced
Teaching Assistant and Residential Mentor – Synthetic Chemistry
The Teaching Assistant and Residential Mentor serves a dual role, assisting with both academic instruction, mentorship, and community building in an immersive learning environment. They work closely with the academic directors to support participant learning by assisting participants with problem sets and in using equipment or software. They also work under the direction of the Site Director as residential advisors and personal mentors, supervising participants and organizing recreational and social activities.

The ideal candidates for this position are rising college seniors, graduating seniors, or early graduate students in STEM fields who are passionate about mentoring bright and motivated high school students.

Research project:
 
Creation of novel macrocyclic drugs (project description)

Interested in other projects? Check out Astrophysics, Biochemistry, and Genomics.

Check out other TA openings: Astrophysics, Biochemistry, and Genomics.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
  • Live on campus for 6 weeks alongside program participants (1 week of startup without participants + 5 program weeks with participants)
  • Assist participants in the classroom and in research spaces with academic content and research topics, equipment, and procedures
  • Provide guidance to participants on problem sets (homework), providing feedback on submissions
  • Serve as a personal mentor, offering guidance and support to participants
  • Supervise participants and organize recreational and social activities to foster community, inclusion, and a sense of belonging in the cohort  
  • Monitor the emotional, mental, social, and physical health and wellbeing of participants, reporting and responding to concerns in collaboration with the Site Director and other faculty members
  • Communicate effectively with participants and faculty team to solve problems and create a safe, respectful, functional, and inclusive learning and working environment
  • Collaborate with other faculty members to ensure a cohesive program experience
  • Participate in pre-program training and regular staff meetings
  • Flexibly completing other residential, logistical, operational, and/or academic duties as assigned by the Site Director and/or Academic Director
  • Under the direction of academic and site directors, responsible for completing startup week and program tasks.
  • Uphold and adhere to the standards, expectations, values, and traditions of the SSP community, including respect for others, communication, collaborative teamwork, timeliness, honesty, integrity, dress code, and personal conduct
  • Consistently operate within, and be measured with respect to, SSP's mission and values
Requirements:
  • Organic and inorganic chemistry classroom and/or laboratory experience
  • Residential leadership, academic teaching/tutoring, or mentorship experience
Skills and Abilities:
  • Strong academic background in relevant STEM fields (and relevant research skills)
    • SSP Synthetic Chemistry
      • Experience with multistep organic and/or inorganic synthesis, either through upper-level Chemistry lab coursework, or undergraduate research
      • Characterization of organic/inorganic compounds via IR, NMR, Mass Spectrometry and/or related spectroscopic techniques
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills
  • Ability to explain complex concepts clearly to high school students
  • Providing actionable but supportive feedback on participant work (homework)
  • Experience with academic writing is preferred, but not required
  • Enthusiasm for mentoring and working with adolescents
  • Excitement for working in immersive living learning environments
  • Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team
Working Conditions:
  • The position is temporary full-time in-person, with an emphasis on evening and weekend responsibilities outside of typical work hours up to six days per week
  • Required to live on campus in a dorm with participants, have dinner with participants, staff office hours on rotation, and be available for on-call duties
  • May involve local travel for field trips and activities
Salary:
  • 2024 salary was $8,400 for undergraduates or new graduates in their first summer. Salary for 2025 is subject to budget approval.
  • Returning TAs and those with graduate school or equivalent work experience earn more
  • Travel expenses to and from campus plus housing and meals while on campus are paid by SSP
Physical Job Requirements: Applicants should be able to perform the following physical job requirements with or without reasonable accommodation.
  • May need to sit, stand, and walk and assume a variety of positions (i.e. bending, kneeling, squatting, crawling, crouching, climbing, carrying, pushing, pulling, reaching at or above shoulder level, and reaching overhead.)
  • May be required to lift or move up to 50 pounds
  • May need to maintain near and far visual acuity
  • Must be physically present at assigned job location 
  • Must hear, understand, and distinguish speech or other sounds
  • Must exercise independent decisions and evaluate consequences of decisions
  • Must maintain regular and punctual attendance.
Clearance Requirements:
  • Authorization to work in the United States
  • Ability to pass a background check and pre-employment screening
Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every qualification. SSP is committed to increasing the diversity of our participant pool and driven to see that same diversity reflected in our faculty. If you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with these qualifications, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other opportunities.

 
Share

Apply for this position

Required*
Apply with Indeed
We've received your resume. Click here to update it.
Attach resume or Paste resume
Attach resume as .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt, .txt, or .rtf (limit 5MB) or Paste resume

Paste your resume here or Attach resume file

To comply with government Equal Employment Opportunity and/or Affirmative Action reporting regulations, we are requesting (but NOT requiring) that you enter this personal data. This information will not be used in connection with any employment decisions, and will be used solely as permitted by state and federal law. Your voluntary cooperation would be appreciated. Learn more.
Invitation for Job Applicants to Self-Identify as a U.S. Veteran
  • A “disabled veteran” is one of the following:
    • a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or
    • a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
  • A “recently separated veteran” means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
  • An “active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
  • An “Armed forces service medal veteran” means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.
Veteran status


Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability
Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026
Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Please check one of the boxes below:

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

You must enter your name and date
Human Check*