Senior Manager, R&D

About the role

Join us as a strategic R&D team lead within Chemical Synthesis Solutions (CSS) R&D at MilliporeSigma. In this pivotal role, you will serve as the cornerstone scientific bridge between chemistry and biology. This role does not offer sponsorship for work authorization. External applicants must be eligible to work in the US.

Responsibilities

As a dual-domain expert, you will independently design and execute the in vitro biochemical and cell-based assays required to validate chemical hypotheses. Your work spans the full early drug discovery continuum — from target identification and mechanism of action (MOA) studies, through proof-of-concept (PoC) validation of CSS chemical products and proprietary platforms, to enabling the characterization of novel therapeutic modalities.

• Design and synthesize chemical probes, tool compounds, and novel building blocks; apply SAR, ADME, and selectivity principles to guide prioritization of CSS chemical candidates and platform molecules.
• Lead protein and peptide chemistry within CSS R&D: solid-phase/liquid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS/LPPS), cyclic and stapled peptide design, site-specific protein modification, and antibody conjugation strategies for ADCs, PROTACs, ASOs and peptide therapeutics.
• Lead the design and synthesis of novel DELs (encompassing membrane-DEL and proximity-DEL) and integrate DEL-derived insights to streamline and accelerate validation of screening hits.
• Provide expert guidance on linker chemistry, bioconjugation, and payload design for novel modalities (ADCs, TPDs, peptide–drug conjugates, ASO-based therapeutics, as well as RNAs).
• Deploy chemical biology approaches — activity-based protein profiling (ABPP), photoaffinity labeling, chemoproteomics, chemical genetics — to interrogate target biology and support target identification workflows.

Requirements

• PhD in Chemical Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a closely related discipline with a strong chemical biology component.
• Minimum 10 years of post-doctoral R&D experience in pharma, biotech, or life science tools (industry or academic), with a demonstrated track record spanning both chemistry and in vitro biology.
• Deep, hands-on expertise in chemical biology: chemical probe design and synthesis, ABPP, photoaffinity labeling, chemoproteomics, or equivalent target identification and MOA methodologies.
• Solid medicinal chemistry literacy: SAR, ADME, selectivity optimization, and drug-likeness principles applied to small molecules, peptides, and chemical probes.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will be a chemist at heart with a strong biological toolkit — someone who understands how molecular structure drives biological function, and who can translate chemical innovation into biologically validated insights that underpin our product and platform strategy.

Skills

• Strong protein and peptide chemistry expertise: SPPS/LPPS, peptide conjugation, cyclic/stapled peptide design, site-specific protein modification, and bioconjugation strategies for ADCs, PROTACs, and peptide therapeutics.
• Deep technical expertise in mammalian cell culture, biochemical and cell-based functional assays, binding assays, and protein labeling — with the ability to independently design, develop, and execute these workflows — and a strong focus on characterizing novel modalities (ASOs, RNA, proteins, ADCs, peptide drugs, PROTACs, etc.).
• Comprehensive understanding of MOA study design across diverse therapeutic target classes (kinases, proteases, E3 ligases, nucleic acid targets, GPCRs, etc.).

Benefits

Benefits offered by the Company include health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement contributions, and other perquisites. For more information, visit our benefits site.

Pay

Pay Range for this position: $130,900 - $202,000. The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. Position may be eligible for sales or performance-based bonuses.