POSITION SUMMARY
Position Title: Director, Medicinal Chemistry
Reports to: Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry
Status: Regular, Full-time, Exempt
Location: South San Francisco, California (on-site / hybrid)
Summary: The Director, Medicinal Chemistry is responsible for co-leading a full-phase small molecule antiviral discovery program from lead optimization through candidate nomination, and for contributing design ideas and scientific judgment across the rest of the medicinal chemistry portfolio.
The medicinal chemistry group is deliberately small, and each member co-leads at least one full-phase discovery program while also driving early-phase programs. All wet chemistry is executed through our designated CRO partners. Our internal chemists are responsible for MedChem strategy, compound design, and rigorous oversight of external executions to ensure direction, focus, and productivity. The Director will be expected to contribute scientific input to programs beyond his/her own; the ability to work generously and effectively in a team setting is as critical as individual technical excellence.
Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Co-leading a full-phase small molecule discovery program: own the MedChem strategy with a program co-lead, drive the design-synthesis-test-analysis cycle, and advance the program through lead optimization to development candidate nomination
- Designing new target molecules and chemical series to build structure-activity relationships, applying property-based and structure-based design in close partnership with computational chemistry and structural biology scientists
- Directing and rigorously managing external synthetic chemistry resources at CROs - setting chemistry priorities, reviewing and troubleshooting synthetic routes, safeguarding data quality and compound integrity, and delivering on timelines across multiple time zones
- Integrating virology, biochemistry, DMPK, and safety data into compound design; diagnose and resolve DMPK liabilities (metabolic stability, permeability, efflux and transporters, protein binding, CYP inhibition/induction and DDI risk) and apply PK/PD reasoning to define target exposures and dosing hypotheses
- Providing scientific input, design ideas, and constructive feedback to other discovery programs in various team settings
- Contributing to early-phase discovery, including target and hit triage, hit-to-lead progression, and evaluation of new chemical starting points and modalities
- Exercising sound, data-driven decision making on series progression, resource allocation and go/no-go calls, with a consistent bias toward advancing project goals
- Being resourceful in acquiring the right tools to solve problems - identifying and securing the computational, biophysical, structural, analytical or synthetic capabilities a program needs, internally or externally
- Actively participating in multidisciplinary teams, collaborating closely with virology, DMPK, computational chemistry, informatics, pharmacology, toxicology and CMC colleagues
- Presenting research updates and recommendations clearly to project teams, R&D leadership and external partners
- Reviewing patent literature and work with company patent attorney on invention disclosures, patent generation, and filings to build and defend a strong proprietary estate
- Mentoring and developing colleagues and CRO partner scientists, and contributing to a collegial, rigorous scientific culture
- Other duties as assigned
This job description outlines the primary duties and responsibilities of the role; however, it is not intended to be all-inclusive. The scope of responsibilities may be modified, expanded, or adjusted at the discretion of the organization to meet evolving business needs.
Qualifications include:
- PhD in synthetic organic or medicinal chemistry
- Minimum of 8 years of drug discovery experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry
- Demonstrated experience leading or co-leading a discovery program from hit-to-lead, lead optimization, to development candidate nomination
- Demonstrated creativity in drug design and problem solving, including the ability to generate novel chemical matter and new approaches
- Working knowledge of PK and PK/PD concepts and their application to compound design and candidate selection
- Demonstrated ability to diagnose and solve DMPK issues in a lead optimization setting
- Experience with structure-based drug design and the practical use of protein structures and computational tools in compound design
- Demonstrated sound decision making, particularly with respect to advancing project goals under real-world data and resource constraints
- Resourcefulness in acquiring the appropriate tools, data and expertise required for problem solving
- Demonstrated success designing and directing synthetic chemistry executed by either domestic or / and international CRO partners
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present and defend a scientific position to cross-functional colleagues and senior leadership
- Strong interpersonal skills and a genuine orientation toward teamwork; able to contribute constructively to programs he/she does not lead and to operate with minimal supervision in a fast-paced, small-company environment
- Knowledge and experience in antiviral drug discovery is desirable but not required
Pay Range: $220,000 - $233,500 annualized
The stated pay range for this position reflects the San Francisco Bay Area job market. Assembly Bio establishes pay ranges based on geographic work locations. Additional factors such as academic credentials and relevant experience will influence the actual salary offered.
