Computational Chemist

Eurofins Viracor BioPharma Services; Saint Charles (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

Eurofins Discovery is seeking a leading Computational Chemist to drive hit finding campaigns and AI-based drug discovery initiatives. You will champion computational sciences, oversee data governance, and develop advanced workflows across chemistry and biology teams.

The successful candidate will mentor others, collaborate with DiscoveryAI, and ensure timely delivery to clients while advancing in silico drug design strategies.

Qualifications

• Proven track record applying computational chemistry in drug discovery projects.
• Strong understanding of medicinal chemistry principles and translating insights into design.
• Experience with AI/ML approaches in drug discovery and data-driven decision making.
• Ability to design, validate, and benchmark computational workflows.

Responsibilities

• Represent Computational Chemistry as SME for nonclinical R&D.
• Lead and pursue research projects, implement novel computational workflows.
• Develop and utilize state-of-the-art computational software and methods.
• Analyze and report research informatics data for internal and external clients.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemistry on lead optimization activities.
• Develop data governance and visualization tools for large datasets.
• Communicate project status and strategies to leadership.
• Ensure timely delivery and cross-functional support as required.

Skills

Drug discovery

AI/ML in drug discovery

Computational chemistry

Cross-functional teamwork

Scientific communication

Job description

Company Description

Eurofins believes it is a global leader in food, environmental, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products testing and in agroscience CRO services. It is also one of the global independent market leaders in certain testing and laboratory services for genomics, discovery pharmacology, forensics, CDMO, advanced material sciences and in the support of clinical studies.

In over just 30 years, Eurofins has grown from one laboratory in Nantes, France to over 50,000 staff across a network of more than 900 independent companies in over 50 countries and operating more than 800 laboratories. Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 200,000 analytical methods to evaluate the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin, traceability and purity of biological substances and products, as well as providing innovative clinical diagnostic testing services, as one of the leading global emerging players in specialized clinical diagnostics testing.

In 2021, Eurofins generated total revenues of EUR € 6.7 billion, and has been among the best performing stocks in Europe over the past 20 years.

Job Description

Eurofins Discovery is very motivated to apply computational sciences, data visualization, bioinformatics and other data-driven approaches to all steps of the drug development process at every level of the organization. Given the expanding scope of the Drug Discovery Chemistry group's operations, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to continue to build on the existing team to achieve this goal. S/he will be a champion of promoting computational sciences as an integral part of Hit Finding campaigns, modern ML/AI supported drug discovery and Eurofins flagship Integrated Drug Discovery Programs under DiscoveryOne. Work closely with DiscoveryAI business to support/lead Eurofins Discovery wider AI based initiatives.

• Represent Computational Chemistry as the subject matter expert for nonclinical research and development;
• Independently pursue research projects, implement novel computational workflows and support a dynamic multi-disciplinary team focused on moving projects from the hit identification stage to the discovery of clinical candidate;
• Contribute to the development, implementation and utilization of state-of-the-art computational software, computer aided drug design and simulation techniques to help drive in silico drug discovery activities;
• Responsible for the analysis, interpretation, integration and reporting of research informatics data generated with internal teams and external clients;
• Partner with and support medicinal chemistry team during lead optimization related activities such as docking and scoring of the molecules from rational drug design
• Apply or develop new tools or data-mining techniques for integrative analysis and visualization of large data sets;
• Participate in data governance objectives working closely with IT and the laboratory teams;
• Provide transparency and regular communication on project status, potential roadblocks for execution, and new strategies with Drug Discovery Chemistry leadership;
• Owns the accountability and responsibility of delivering to client needs and timeliness;
• Provides cross-functional support to other departments as required;

• Full-time

Job Description

Eurofins Discovery is very motivated to apply computational sciences, data visualization, bioinformatics and other data-driven approaches to all steps of the drug development process at every level of the organization. Given the expanding scope of the Drug Discovery Chemistry group's operations, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to continue to build on the existing team to achieve this goal. S/he will be a champion of promoting computational sciences as an integral part of Hit Finding campaigns, modern ML/AI supported drug discovery and Eurofins flagship Integrated Drug Discovery Programs under DiscoveryOne. Work closely with DiscoveryAI business to support/lead Eurofins Discovery wider AI based initiatives.

This individual will be responsible for technical consultation with our chemistry and biology experts and scientists, overseeing and leading scientific data governance, analytical tool development, computational chemistry methods development, and meta-analyses of internal and external data from multiple technologies.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Represent Computational Chemistry as the subject matter expert for nonclinical research and development;
• Independently pursue research projects, implement novel computational workflows and support a dynamic multi-disciplinary team focused on moving projects from the hit identification stage to the discovery of clinical candidate;
• Contribute to the development, implementation and utilization of state-of-the-art computational software, computer aided drug design and simulation techniques to help drive in silico drug discovery activities;
• Responsible for the analysis, interpretation, integration and reporting of research informatics data generated with internal teams and external clients;
• Partner with and support medicinal chemistry team during lead optimization related activities such as docking and scoring of the molecules from rational drug design
• Apply or develop new tools or data-mining techniques for integrative analysis and visualization of large data sets;
• Participate in data governance objectives working closely with IT and the laboratory teams;
• Provide transparency and regular communication on project status, potential roadblocks for execution, and new strategies with Drug Discovery Chemistry leadership;
• Owns the accountability and responsibility of delivering to client needs and timeliness;
• Provides cross-functional support to other departments as required;

Qualifications

• Proven track record of impact in drug discovery projects (e.g., contribution to lead identification/optimization, progression of compounds into development)
• Strong understanding of medicinal chemistry principles and the ability to translate computational insights into actionable design hypotheses
• Experience with ligand-based design approaches (e.g., QSAR, similarity searching, conformational analysis)
• Knowledge of free energy methods (e.g., FEP, MM-GBSA) and their practical application/limitations
• Experience handling and curating large chemical and biological datasets (data quality, standardization, reproducibility)
• Familiarity with modern AI/ML approaches in drug discovery (e.g., deep learning, generative models) and their appropriate use cases
• Ability to design, validate, and benchmark computational workflows rather than only applying existing protocols
• Strong statistical thinking and understanding of uncertainty, validation strategies, and model performance metrics
• Experience working in cross-functional teams (medicinal chemistry, biology, DMPK) and communicating results to non-experts
• Good software engineering practices (version control, reproducible pipelines, documentation)
• Exposure to ADMET prediction tools and integration into design cycles
• Ability to critically assess experimental data (SAR, assay variability) and integrate it into modeling efforts Leadership or mentoring experience Strategic thinking in selecting and deploying computational, AI & ML approaches aligned with project goals
• Proven ability to successfully influence cross-functionally and to be sought after as a technical expert within the computational sciences applied to drug development domain
• Travels to other Eurofins facilities is required

Additional Information

The position is full-time, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., with overtime as needed.

• Excellent full time benefits including comprehensive medical coverage, dental, and vision options
• Life and disability insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid vacation and holidays

Eurofins USA Discovery Services is a Disabled and Veteran Equal Employment Opportunity employer.