Director, Medicinal Chemistry - CNS Drug Discovery (Remote)

Centessa Pharmaceuticals; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based clinical-stage company, seeks a Director of Medicinal Chemistry to lead a multidisciplinary CNS drug discovery program. This hands-on leadership role guides a distributed team of internal chemists, CROs, consultants, and partners toward IND-ready small molecules.

You will shape chemistry strategy, drive IP, analyse SAR with ADME data, manage outsourced teams, and push programs toward ambitious timelines, while communicating clearly with project teams and

Qualifications

• BS/MS Chemistry; PhD strongly preferred.
• 10+ years designing small molecules as a medicinal chemistry team leader within biotech/pharma.
• Experience with CNS targets and lead optimization into IND-ready candidates.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage internal chemistry resources, including remote sites and CROs, to IND-ready candidates.
• Serve as chemistry leader within the project team, coordinating with partners and consultants.
• Design new molecules addressing target product profile and establish IP.
• Contribute to chemistry strategy and filings to protect IP.
• Analyse SAR with weekly pharmacology and ADME data to guide designs.
• Monitor competitor activity and recent medicinal chemistry developments.
• Communicate with the synthetic team to maximize throughput of test compounds.
• Utilize in-house structure-based drug design knowledge.
• Use computational tools to refine designs and predictions.
• Present data and propose next steps at chemistry-focused and cross-functional meetings.
• Defend designs with SAR and literature precedent, while remaining open to alternatives.

Skills

Medicinal chemistry leadership

CNS drug discovery

Remote team leadership

Hit-to-lead optimization

ADME knowledge

Structure-based design

AI/digital tools curiosity

Education

PhD in Chemistry preferred

BS/MS in Chemistry

Job description

Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based clinical-stage company, seeks a Director of Medicinal Chemistry to lead a multidisciplinary CNS drug discovery program. This hands-on leadership role guides a distributed team of internal chemists, CROs, consultants, and partners toward IND-ready small molecules.

You will shape chemistry strategy, drive IP, analyse SAR with ADME data, manage outsourced teams, and push programs toward ambitious timelines, while communicating clearly with project teams and