Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Kardigan is a heart health company working to make cardiovascular disease preventable, curable, and no longer the leading cause of death in the world. Our mission is to develop multiple targeted treatments in parallel that bring people with cardiovascular diseases the cures they deserve. Led by co-founders with a track record of success—including the discovery and development of mavacamten, the first cardiac myosin inhibitor, which led to an acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2020—Kardigan combines a cutting-edge discovery and translational research platform, a pipeline of late-stage candidates, and an industry-leading team driven to improve patients' lives.

Our values guide how we work, interact, and achieve our goals: we are driven by patients and their families, authentic in our leadership, eager to learn, committed to winning as a team, and strive to enable the impossible by taking risks to unlock innovation and advance scientific discoveries.

About the role

The Director, Medicinal Chemistry will provide experienced chemistry leadership to small molecule drug discovery programs in Kardigan’s preclinical portfolio. This role involves leading cross-functional project teams and collaborating to advance preclinical programs from initiation to delivery of a development candidate.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Chemistry Lead for preclinical drug discovery programs.
• Co-lead the preclinical project team, working closely with the Biology co-lead to develop and execute project plans, manage ongoing activities, and ensure project success.
• Lead new molecule design by integrating potency, selectivity, DMPK, safety, and in vivo pharmacology data to guide compound design and address liabilities.
• Provide oversight of CRO-executed chemical synthesis and assays, ensuring high standards for productivity and data quality.
• Collaborate with IP Legal to deliver strong intellectual property.
• Effectively communicate complex scientific data, analyses, and strategies to project teams and in governance meetings.
• Recruit, mentor, and manage medicinal chemists as the group grows.

Requirements

• PhD in Chemistry with a focus on Organic or Medicinal Chemistry.
• 8+ years of pharma/biotech industry drug discovery experience with a strong track record of leading medicinal chemistry across hit identification, hit-to-lead, lead optimization, and development candidate nominations.
• Prior experience delivering a development candidate or equivalent is a plus.
• Experience managing teams of external chemistry FTEs at CRO collaborators is strongly preferred.
• Deep expertise in synthetic and medicinal chemistry, physicochemical property-based design, structure-based design, and relevant drug discovery disciplines (e.g., biology, DMPK, and material science).
• Prior experience in cardiovascular disease is a plus.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate complex scientific concepts to a broad range of collaborators, leaders, and stakeholders.
• Track record of consistent scientific achievement and successful drug discovery work (peer-reviewed publications, patent inventorship, conference presentations).
• Prior direct management experience, including hiring, mentoring, and performance management of chemists.

Schedule

On-site 4 days per week (Monday to Thursday) in South San Francisco, CA.

Pay

Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location. Pay range: $207,000 – $250,000 USD.