This document outlines the competencies required of a natural product chemist. The chemist should have strong experience in bioassay directed drug discovery from natural sources like plants, functional foods, and cosmetics. They must be proficient in extracting, purifying, identifying, and quantifying bioactive compounds from natural products. In addition, the chemist should be experienced in developing processes for pilot production and scaling up leads into clinical development and commercialization. Strong knowledge of natural product biosynthesis, instrumentation like HPLC and NMR, and data analysis software is also required.