Director, Medicinal Chemistry

BioSpace; Indianapolis (IN); Remote; USD 153,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Pension plan

Health benefits

Job summary

Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a CNS-focused clinical-stage company, seeks a Director, Medicinal Chemistry to lead the chemistry effort within a multi-disciplinary CNS program. This hands-on leadership role coordinates internal chemists, CRO teams, consultants, and partners to progress hits to IND-ready candidates from hit-to-lead and lead optimization.

The role requires a PhD with 10+ years designing small molecules and proven ability to manage remote teams, set priorities, and drive IP strategy.

Qualifications

• 10+ years designing small molecules as a medicinal chemistry team leader in biotech/pharma.
• Strong expertise in synthetic and medicinal chemistry with PK/ADME knowledge.
• Experience with CNS targets through discovery stages (hit-to-lead to IND-ready).
• Proven ability to lead remote and outsourced chemistry teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal chemistry resources, including remote staff and CRO teams, to IND-ready candidates.
• Serve as the chemistry leader in a multi-disciplinary project team with partners and consultants.
• Design new molecules addressing target product profile and establish IP position.
• Develop chemistry strategy and translate SAR data into improved designs.
• Present data and propose next steps to chemistry and cross-functional teams.

Skills

Small molecule design

Team leadership

Remote collaboration

CNS targets

Outsourced chemistry

Problem solving

Education

PhD preferred

BS/MS Chemistry

Chemistry degree

Job description

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.

Overview

Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, is a clinical-stage company developing orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists as a new class of medicines for the treatment of narcolepsy and potentially other sleep-wake disorders. Centessa’s lead investigational candidate – cleminorexton (formerly ORX750) – is being developed for narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia. Centessa's OX2R agonist portfolio includes additional clinical and preclinical-stage assets with potential utility across a broader range of neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric conditions. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Centessa was recognized as a Great Place to Work® in 2026.

We are seeking a Director, Medicinal Chemistry who will lead the medicinal chemistry component of a multi-disciplinary team within a CNS GPCR drug discovery program. This is a hands‑on leadership role responsible for guiding a virtual, geographically distributed organization — including internal chemistry staff (some based at remote sites), a CRO‑based synthetic chemistry team, consultants, and partners — through the identification and progression of small‑molecule and other modality candidates from hit‑to‑lead through IND‑ready status. Success in this role requires strong scientific leadership, sound judgment, and the ability to build effective working relationships across a geographically dispersed team.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage internal chemistry resources — including staff based at remote sites — alongside dedicated synthetic chemistry teams within CROs, setting priorities, resolving synthetic challenges, and directing the groups toward IND‑ready candidate molecules.
• Serve as the chemistry leader within the broader multi-disciplinary project team, building strong working relationships and effective communication with colleagues, partners, consultants, and CROs to jointly identify the best path forward.
• Use all available resources to creatively design new molecules which address the target product profile, establish new intellectual property, and progress the project toward time‑based goals
• Make substantial contributions to the development of a chemistry strategy that secures a robust intellectual property position for the company in each area of work
• Analyse SAR within weekly pharmacology & ADME data to identify opportunities for improved molecules, and translate these into tractable designs for molecules with drug‑like properties
• Maintain awareness of competitor activities and current medicinal chemistry developments, and use this effectively to advance internal programs
• Communicate regularly with synthetic team, maintain awareness of all ongoing chemistry and look for opportunities to maximise throughput of test compounds
• Effectively utilise in‑house structure‑based drug design knowledge
• Use compound property computational predictive tools to refine designs
• Present data and clearly articulate ideas for next steps at both chemistry‑focused and cross‑functional TCs, and at ad hoc F2F meetings
• Use evidence from SAR and literature precedent to defend proposed designs, and also be receptive to alternative suggestions
• Express ideas clearly and professionally in written and verbal interactions within the context of project teams and senior management

Basic Qualifications

• BS/MS Chemistry. PhD Strongly preferred.
• 10+ years designing small molecules as a medicinal chemistry team leader within a biotech and/or pharmaceutical company
• Expert, enthusiastic command of synthetic chemistry and medicinal chemistry principles, combined with solid working knowledge of pharmacology, ADME, pharmaceutical sciences, IP protection, and candidate selection criteria
• Experience of working on CNS targets, and across all stages of discovery (hit‑to‑lead & lead optimisation into IND‑ready candidates)
• Proven ability to lead and motivate teams — including remote and virtual teams — toward aggressive timelines, balancing independent scientific judgment with strong interpersonal and leadership skills
• Experience of managing outsourced chemistry teams
• Adaptive problem solver - turn issues into opportunities and translates ideas into solutions, even when the path isn’t clear.
• Leverage technical depth and a growth mindset to make impact; imagine what’s possible and pursue it with intention and energy.
• Demonstrate curiosity and drive self‑identified innovation, especially in the exploration of artificial intelligence and digital tools.

Work Location

The Director, Medicinal Chemistry role is a remote based role in the US, with occasional travel.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $153,000 - $290,400

Full‑time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance).

In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well‑being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities). Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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