Senior Medicinal Chemist (Drug Discovery - Chemistry)

o2h discovery; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

o2h discovery seeks an exceptional medicinal chemist to lead international drug discovery projects from India while engaging UK/US/Europe collaborators. Senior chemists interested in management or business development are encouraged to apply.

Candidates must be based in the UK, USA, or Europe with demonstrable international industry experience and a track record of mentoring teams to high scientific standards.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or equivalent with strong industrial or international experience.
• 5–20 years in small-molecule drug discovery under global collaboration.
• Experience with ADCs, peptides, covalent inhibitors and modern platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead integrated, multi-modality drug discovery projects across chemistry disciplines.
• Address complex synthesis challenges using advanced analytical approaches.
• Apply modern discovery platforms including ELNs, cheminformatics, and digital workflows.
• Collaborate with biology, DMPK, and platform sciences for integrated delivery.
• Mentor scientists to global standards of quality and scientific rigour.
• Build and represent o2h Discovery partnerships with global biotech clients.

Skills

Medicinal chemistry

Synthetic chemistry

Route design

Digital chemistry

Mentoring teams

Global collaboration

Education

Ph.D./Postdoc from leading international university

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional medicinal chemist with international education or global industry experience to help lead drug discovery projects from India while working closely with collaborators in their local markets. This role offers a hybrid international working opportunity for experienced scientists based in the USA, UK or Europe, combining project leadership from India with regular engagement with global biotech collaborators.

Senior medicinal chemists interested in project management and/or business development are also encouraged to apply.

Candidates must be based in the UK, USA, or Europe and have demonstrated international industry experience.

What you'll do

• Lead integrated, multi-modality drug discovery projects across chemistry disciplines
• Address complex synthesis challenges using advanced analytical approaches
• Apply modern discovery platforms including ELNs, cheminformatics, and digital workflows
• Collaborate with biology, ADME/DMPK, and platform sciences for integrated delivery
• Mentor scientists to global standards of quality and scientific rigour
• Build and represent o2h Discovery partnerships with global biotech clients

Skills we value

• Strong medicinal and synthetic chemistry expertise, with experience in route design and complex problem-solving
• Advanced troubleshooting using digital chemistry and modern discovery platforms
• Experience across advanced modalities, including ADCs, peptides, covalent inhibitors and TPD and practical familiarity with HTE, flow chemistry and other productivity-enhancing techniques
• Strong scientific communication and the ability to influence global collaborations
• Demonstrated ability to mentor, guide, and develop scientific teams

Qualifications & Experience

• Ph.D/Post doc from a leading international university (US/UK/EU strongly preferred)
• 5-20 years of industrial experience in small-molecule drug discovery

Job Location:

UK/US/EU (2-3 week rotations to India)

About Company

o2h discovery is a multi-award-winning integrated drug discovery Contract Research Organisation (CRO), headquartered at The Mill SciTech Park, Cambridge, UK, with a world-class research centre in Ahmedabad, India. With 800+ scientists across synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, analytical chemistry, in vitro biology, DMPK, peptide synthesis, and IND-enabling capabilities, we work with partners across the global drug discovery ecosystem.

Founded in 2005 and part of the o2h group, our DNA is centred on seeding new ideas in life science and technology - co-investing, co-creating, and co-executing with our partners. Alongside o2h Ventures, our early-stage life science investment arm, o2h technology, our technology and AI innovation arm, and o2h co-work, our Cambridge-based co-working space, we bring together discovery, technology, capital and collaborative spaces within the wider o2h ecosystem.