Global Lead, External Discovery Chemistry

Merck Gruppe - MSD Sharp & Dohme; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck Gruppe - MSD Sharp & Dohme in the United Kingdom seeks an Associate Director in External Discovery Chemistry to lead collaboration with CROs across UK and Europe, guiding synthetic design and SAR development.

The role requires a Ph.D. in Chemistry and multi‑year experience in organic/medicinal chemistry, with travel up to 40%. You will drive innovation, manage stakeholders globally, and help integrate external data into drug discovery programs.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemistry or related field required.
• Multi-year experience in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, drug discovery, and external collaboration.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 40%.
• Proven record in synthetic organic chemistry and/or medicinal chemistry.
• Familiarity with digital chemistry tools, data science, and predictive modeling.
• Familiarity with X-ray crystallography and structure-guided design principles.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific and operational leadership across UK/Europe CRO network.
• Collaborate with internal discovery teams and external CRO scientists.
• Advance drug discovery programs by integrating CRO contributions into project objectives.
• Drive structure-activity relationship development and synthesis route planning.
• Build trusted collaborations across geographies, cultures, and time zones.

Skills

Chemistry

Crystallography

Drug Design

Medicinal Chemistry

Molecular Design

Organic Chemistry

Organic Synthesis

Process Chemistry

Project Management

Risk Management

Scientific Literacy

Education

Ph.D. in Chemistry

Job description

Merck Gruppe - MSD Sharp & Dohme in the United Kingdom seeks an Associate Director in External Discovery Chemistry to lead collaboration with CROs across UK and Europe, guiding synthetic design and SAR development.

The role requires a Ph.D. in Chemistry and multi‑year experience in organic/medicinal chemistry, with travel up to 40%. You will drive innovation, manage stakeholders globally, and help integrate external data into drug discovery programs.