Director, Small Molecule Discovery Biology (Inflammation & Autoimmunity)

Alumis

$200K — $240K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • PhD with 8+ years in immunology-related small molecule drug discovery
  • Experience leading project biology or biochemistry efforts
  • Hands-on expertise with emerging drug discovery modalities such as protein-protein interaction inhibitors
  • Comprehensive knowledge from target discovery through early clinical development
  • Familiarity with autoimmune disease biology and related experimental methodologies
  • Prior management of CRO collaborations
  • Strong interpersonal skills for independent and collaborative work
  • Successful track record in mentoring junior staff
  • Enthusiasm for a roles within a small company environment

Responsibilities

  • Lead discovery-stage small molecule projects, shaping strategy and identifying knowledge gaps
  • Develop biochemical and cellular read-outs to support drug discovery
  • Supervise laboratory-based biology staff directly and indirectly
  • Manage external studies at CROs effectively
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with teams including medicinal chemistry and preclinical development
  • Communicate project strategies and updates to leadership

Benefits

  • Health insurance premiums covered 90% for employees and 80% for dependents
  • Free access to Genentech Bus & Ferry Share program
  • $100 monthly cell phone stipend
  • Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
  • Free onsite gym and a kitchen stocked with snacks and drinks
Full Job Description
The Alumis team seeks a highly motivated Director in autoimmune discovery biology. The candidate should be well-versed in small molecule drug discovery and bring experience with a variety of target classes and modalities. The individual will take responsibility for important project-level biochemistry and biology efforts advancing our early portfolio of small molecule autoimmune therapies, as well as mentoring junior staff. The ideal candidate will bring expertise drawn from different areas of biology and immunology, such as biochemistry, pharmacology, cell biology, molecular biology, and chemical biology/proteomics. Prior experience will ideally span across the stages of drug discovery from lead finding through early clinical development.

Key Responsibilities:
  • Taking biology department responsibility in discovery-stage small molecule projects including conceptualizing project strategy, recognizing knowledge gaps, formulating screening paradigms, overseeing SAR generation, coordinating among project stakeholders, and identifying potential new targets
  • Overseeing development of both biochemical and cellular read-outs to support small molecule drug discovery efforts Support characterization of small molecule clinical candidates by employing autoimmune disease models and developing clinically relevant PD assays
  • Providing both direct and indirect supervision of laboratory-based biology staff
  • Manage external biology studies performed at CROs.
  • Collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams including medicinal chemistry, DMPK, and preclinical development.
  • Ensuring effective communication and coordination with departmental and company-wide leaders on project strategy and progress toward goals

Ideal candidate:
  • PhD with 8+ years biopharma work experience in immunology-related small molecule drug discovery
  • Prior experience with function-level oversight of project biology and/or biochemistry efforts, or overall project team leadership
  • Knowledge of and hands on experience with emerging areas of small molecule drug discovery, such as protein-protein interaction inhibitors, degraders and molecular glues, and transcription factors
  • Expertise spanning from early-stage target discovery and validation through early clinical development
  • Awareness of methods for compound screening, characterizing mechanism of action, transcriptomics, and proteomics
  • Familiarity with autoimmune disease biology including in vitro and in vivo immunology models, immortalized cell lines, isolation and characterization of primary immune cells, RNA-Seq, and cytokine detection methodologies
  • Prior management of CRO collaborations, with an existing familiarity of a wide variety of biology CROs
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work both independently and cross-functionally to advance drug discovery programs; experience working with academic collaborators is a plus.
  • Successful direct and indirect supervision of junior staff members
  • Familiarity and enthusiasm for working in a small company environment
  • Track record of scientific achievement and innovation

The salary range for this position is $200,000 USD to $240,000 USD annually. This salary range is an estimate, and the actual salary may very based on the Company's compensation practices.

Alumis compensation packages include generous stock option grants for all employees as well as an annual bonus program.

Other benefits include:
  • Health insurance premiums paid at 90% for employee, 80% for dependents
  • Free access to Genentech Bus & Ferry Share program
  • $100 monthly cell phone stipend
  • Unlimited PTO for Exempt employees
  • Free onsite gym and a kitchen stocked with yummy snacks and drinks!

We are a hard-working, collaborative team on a mission to transform patient's lives-- and we aspire to elevate, challenge and nurture one another along the way.

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