Research Leader / Senior Scientist (Medicinal Drug Design), Cambridge, MA

Isomorphic Labs is applying frontier AI to help unlock deeper scientific insights, faster breakthroughs, and life-changing medicines with an ambition to solve all disease. The future is coming—a future enabled and enriched by the power of machine learning, where diseases are curtailed or cured starting with better and faster drug discovery. Join an interdisciplinary team driving groundbreaking innovation and play a meaningful role in achieving our ambitious goals within an inspiring and collaborative culture.

About Iso

Isomorphic Labs (IsoLabs) was launched in 2021 to advance human health by building on and beyond the Nobel-winning AlphaFold system. Our interdisciplinary team of drug discovery experts and machine learning specialists has developed powerful predictive and generative AI models that accelerate scientific discovery at digital speed. Our name reflects the belief in an underlying symmetry between biology and information science. By harnessing AI, we model complex biological phenomena to design novel molecules, anticipate drug performance, and develop innovative medicines for some of the world’s most devastating diseases.

We have built a world-leading drug design engine comprising AI models capable of working across multiple therapeutic areas and drug modalities. We continually innovate on model architecture and develop cutting-edge capabilities to advance rational drug design. Every day, we move closer to the promise of digital biology and our mission to one day solve all disease with AI.

About The Medicinal Drug Design Team

We are a dynamic team of Medicinal Chemists transforming how drugs are designed. By partnering deeply with our machine learning colleagues, we actively shape the Isomorphic Labs drug design engine. We use our domain expertise to challenge and refine algorithms, creating a symbiotic relationship that drives our internal and collaborative portfolios. Our team works closely in a supportive environment where everyone is valued for their expertise and experience. We prioritize growth, learning, and a strong collaborative mindset.

Your impact

We’re hiring at the Research Leader and Senior Scientist levels. These roles are ideal for experienced medicinal chemists eager to shape the future of drug discovery at the intersection of medicinal chemistry and artificial intelligence. As a Project Lead or Medicinal Chemistry Lead, you will provide scientific expertise and strategic direction for portfolio drug discovery projects, guiding them from initiation toward clinical candidate selection.

Working alongside world-leading ML scientists, you will enhance our AI platform through your technical expertise and apply these improvements to drug design projects. You will have broad experience across drug discovery, with the ability to think critically and apply innovative ideas. Some roles will include people management responsibilities for teams of 2-4 Medicinal Chemists, focusing on mentorship, scientific growth, and career development. You’ll champion a cross-disciplinary approach, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adoption of next-generation tools.

Responsibilities

• Invent new medicines by rapidly driving drug discovery programs to value inflection points, deploying knowledge of modern discovery principles and synthetic organic chemistry as either a Project Lead or Medicinal Chemistry Lead.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver data-driven scientific solutions to complex technical problems.
• Represent the company externally, interacting with collaborators and Contract Research Organisations (CROs).
• Provide strategic input and technical direction to our ML platform teams.
• Manage CRO resources and monitor KPIs to maintain delivery.
• Generate intellectual property positions and capture value from IsoLabs’ investments.
• Prepare detailed scientific proposals and reports to support new and ongoing programs.
• Champion a culture of inclusion and continuous professional development.

Qualifications

• PhD in Medicinal Chemistry, Synthetic Organic Chemistry, or a related technical field, or equivalent industrial experience.
• 8+ years (Research Leader) or 5+ years (Senior Scientist) of professional experience in a Medicinal Chemistry role within biotech, pharma, or CRO settings.
• Proven track record of project leadership or leading medicinal chemistry efforts on drug discovery projects, with contributions from hit identification through lead optimization or candidate nomination, including ADME property optimization.
• For people management roles: experience leading high-performing scientific teams, mentoring, and empowering them to thrive.
• Experience driving problems through structure-based drug design.
• Excellent strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities for complex drug discovery challenges.
• Experience working with and managing CRO resources.
• Strong scientific achievements evidenced by publications, patents, and presentations.
• Passion for drug discovery and enthusiasm for ML’s potential to transform the field.
• Excellent communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively in cross-functional teams.
• Creative problem-solving with a growth mindset, adaptability, and eagerness to learn new concepts and techniques.

Skills

Nice to have:

• Experience with fragment-based drug design approaches.

Culture and values

We are guided by shared values that strengthen our work:

• Thoughtful: Curiosity, creativity, and care drive our rigorous, future-making science every day.
• Brave: Fearlessness, initiative, and integrity define how we tackle challenges at scale.
• Determined: Confidence in our hypothesis, urgency, and agility fuel our pursuit of solving disease without delay.
• Together: Connection, collaboration, and catalytic relationships transform our work into real impact for people everywhere.

Creating An Extraordinary Company

We believe success requires a team with diverse skills and talents. We foster an environment where collaboration is fundamental, learning is shared, and every employee feels supported. We value unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, and perspectives, harnessing these qualities to create extraordinary impact. Isomorphic Labs is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of sex, race, religion, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or any other basis protected by law.

Schedule

We follow a hybrid model and require you to be in the office 3 days a week (currently Tuesday, Wednesday, and one other day depending on your team). If you have additional needs that prevent this, we’re happy to discuss accommodations during the screening process.