Principal Research Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

About IDEAYA Biosciences

IDEAYA is a precision medicine oncology company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of transformative therapies for cancer. Our approach integrates expertise in small-molecule drug discovery, structural biology and bioinformatics with robust internal capabilities in identifying and validating translational biomarkers to develop tailored, potentially first-in-class, targeted therapies aligned to the genetic drivers of disease. We have built a deep pipeline of product candidates focused on synthetic lethality and antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, for molecularly defined solid tumor indications. Our mission is to bring forth the next wave of precision oncology therapies that are more selective, more effective, and deeply personalized with the goal of altering the course of disease and improving clinical outcomes for patients with cancer.

When you're at IDEAYA, you will be in the midst of brilliant minds working on precision medicine therapies to help cancer patients. We are passionate and committed about being on the forefront of oncology medicine, which means we all have a high internal drive that is at the very core of every person at IDEAYA. We are inquisitive, ask deep questions, and are data-driven innovators who like to collaborate and use teamwork to move science forward.

About the role

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated individual with significant pharmaceutical industry experience to join our multidisciplinary team as a discovery medicinal chemist. The successful candidate will impact programs by being highly productive in lab and by rationally proposing target molecules that overcome liabilities to deliver clinical candidates molecules. You will be a part of dynamic, cross-functional teams that successfully deliver drug discovery pipeline goals.

This position is based in our South San Francisco headquarters and required to be onsite five days per week per our company policy.

Reporting to: Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry

Responsibilities

• Apply modern synthetic techniques to prepare complex chemical targets to advance cutting-edge oncology programs and deliver high-quality molecules at a very productive rate
• Design high-confidence reaction sequences that avoid known liabilities and reduce difficult purifications
• Rapidly gather reaction information and troubleshoot problematic transformations
• Plan ahead and multitask in and out of the lab to maintain high productivity
• Deliver molecules on scales from 10 mg to > 25 g
• Help manage external synthetic chemistry resources to high productivity
• Follow SAR data and leverage medicinal chemistry knowledge to propose targets that address critical issues within a chemical series
• Champion design and synthesis efforts into new directions as needed to achieve goals
• Clearly and concisely communicate results and strategy to inform and influence others
• Use structure-based design skills and modern computational tools to design targets with improved affinity and selectivity profiles

Requirements

• Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry with 3–8 years of pharmaceutical industry medicinal chemistry experience
• Excellent scientific expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, including asymmetric reactions and modern cross-coupling techniques; strong knowledge of modern chemistry literature and in-depth knowledge of a wide range of purification and spectroscopic characterization techniques
• Demonstrated ability to maintain high productivity in the lab and synthesize complicated chemical structures at the pace required to impact medicinal chemistry programs while maintaining high safety standards
• Ability to develop new chemistry that is both practical and scalable
• Ability to regularly troubleshoot synthetic problems and provide practical and creative solutions
• Ability to keep good scientific records
• Ability to identify the most critical issues with the lead chemical matter for a project, associate those issues with chemical functionality or physicochemical properties within the series, and strategically focus most target design efforts toward fixing these issues
• Ability to multitask and set priorities in a fast-paced and dynamic environment while demonstrating a positive attitude and superior work ethic
• Ability to work well in diverse, multi-disciplinary teams
• Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong knowledge of medicinal chemistry concepts, including structure-based target design, SAR-driven target design, multi-parameter optimization, physicochemical properties of drugs, and ADME and pharmacological principles applied to drug discovery
• Ability to use modern computational tools to better understand trends in biological data found within a series of drug-like molecules and to understand the underlying principles governing ligand binding
• Desire to continually learn drug discovery concepts and structure-based design concepts and to stay current with the field while mentoring others

Benefits

• Competitive total rewards package with merit-based salary increases, discretionary short-term incentive plan participation, and discretionary stock option awards (based on board approval)
• Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage (100% company paid for employees and 90% company paid for dependents)
• 401k, ESPP, and wellness programs

Pay

The expected salary range for the role of Principal Research Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry is $177,000 – $218,000. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will depend on several factors that may include, but are not limited to, the office location, the candidate’s experience within their profession and in the disease areas IDEAYA strives to impact, length of time within the industry, educational background, and performance during the interview process.

Schedule

This position requires onsite work in the office at the Company’s facilities for training and meetings, with work-from-home flexibility. All employees working in its facilities must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodations for medical or religious reasons and/or as otherwise required by applicable law. The Company considers an employee fully vaccinated 14 days after receipt of either the second dose in a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine must have been FDA approved, have emergency use authorization from the FDA, or, for persons fully vaccinated outside of the U.S., be listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization.