Scientist/Sr. Scientist, Chemical Biology

About the role

We are seeking an experienced chemical biologist with medicinal chemistry training to be a founding member of our Chemistry/Drug Discovery Team. In this position, you will work with both our Chemistry and Platform Teams in the development of our core drug discovery technology and the generation of a completely novel class of therapeutics.

Responsibilities

• Supervise synthetic efforts with our CROs
• Design, perform, and analyze in vitro and in vivo assays
• Design and optimize first-in-class bifunctional molecules
• Collaborate with our Drug Discovery and IP team on patent applications
• Provide input for mechanistic studies on lead drug molecules
• Spearhead forays into new disease areas

Requirements

• PhD in Chemical Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, or related field
• Chemical Biology with Medicinal Chemistry experience required
• Deep understanding of small-molecule drug discovery and its relationship to human disease
• Able to work fluently at the interface of chemistry and biology
• Strong experience with:
• Designing, synthesizing, and optimizing induced proximity medicines (e.g. PROTACs or other IPMs)
• Contributing to hit-to-lead and lead optimization studies
• Med-chem optimizations: SAR, PK/PD, strong understanding of DMPK
• Experience with chemical biology techniques such as mammalian cell culture and cell-based assays (e.g., cytotoxicity assays, transfections, stable cell line generation, co-immunoprecipitation), and PPI assays (e.g., BRET, APEX/BioID, AlphaScreen)

Nice-to-haves

• Proficiency in HTS and phenotypic assay development
• Proteomics experience: PTM analysis, chemo-proteomic target deconvolution, etc.
• Computational or molecular dynamics drug discovery experience
• DEL experience
• Experience managing others, especially synthetic chemistry CRO teams
• Prior experience on teams that have successfully advanced research to the clinic

Benefits

• Strong equity incentives
• Top tier medical, dental, and vision coverage + One Medical membership
• 401(k) retirement plans
• Education and health/fitness incentive programs
• Meditation retreats—do a ten-day Vipassana retreat without counting towards vacation days
• Reading budget! We will buy you books. 📚
• Located in the MBC BioLabs at 135 Mississippi Street, an entrepreneurial hub full of the best scientists and operators the Bay Area has to offer. Our lab is a very short walk from the 22nd St Caltrain Station and a number of wonderful restaurants and cafés.