Head of In Vitro Biology & Molecular Pharmacology

Schrödinger; Framingham (MA); On-site; USD 195,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare (dental & vision)

Stock options

401(k)

Flexible work schedule

Parental leave

Paid vacation time

Job summary

Schrödinger seeks a Director/Senior Director of In Vitro Biology and Molecular Pharmacology to lead a high-impact Therapeutics Group focused on undrugged targets, novel modalities, and advanced hit finding. You will shape strategy, oversee cross-functional programs, and manage a talented team to advance discovery pipelines and external partnerships.

You will guide target evaluation, develop assays, and drive innovative approaches across DEL, fragment screening, HTS/MTS, and chemoproteomics,

Qualifications

• PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Pharmacology, Chemical Biology, Cell Biology or a related discipline.
• At least ten years of industry experience in drug discovery, including leadership experience.
• Experience leading in vitro biology teams and managing direct reports.
• Demonstrated background with developing assays and prosecuting programs against undrugged targets.
• Significant experience across multiple hit finding modalities (DEL, fragment screening, HTS/MTS, chemoproteomics) and a track record of advancing hits for challenging target classes.
• Deep expertise in biochemical, biophysical, and cell-based assay design.
• Strong experience managing strategic CRO partnerships, including governance, budgets and FTE planning.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategic direction for In Vitro Biology across the Therapeutics Group portfolio, and represent the function on governance bodies covering portfolio prioritization, resource allocation, and Go/No-Go decisions.
• Assess target tractability and risk during target selection, and define the assay cascade needed to advance a target from hit identification through Development Candidate selection.
• Spearhead the organization wide hit finding strategy, collaborating across functions to design and execute screening campaigns across DEL, fragment-based, HTS/MTS, and chemoproteomic platforms, focusing on novel methods for undrugged targets.
• Provide scientific oversight across multiple programs, including challenging target classes such as protein–protein interactions, undrugged targets, and degrader programs.
• Tackle complex in vitro biology and molecular pharmacology challenges including resolving difficult challenges like biochemical-to-cellular disconnects and in vitro to in vivo translatability.
• Act as the IVB project lead when needed, guiding timelines and strategy in close partnership with medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry and structural biology leads.
• Lead and develop the In Vitro Biology and Molecular Pharmacology team, mentoring direct reports and building a culture of scientific rigor and collaboration.
• Own the CRO strategy for In Vitro Biology, including partner selection, budget and FTE planning, quarterly reviews, KPI accountability, and remediation of performance issues.
• Identify capability gaps and drive investment in new technologies and platforms, and feed practical, assay-driven requirements back into Schrödinger's platform and data infrastructure

Skills

Hit finding modalities

DEL

Fragment screening

HTS/MTS

Chemoproteomics

In vitro biology

Molecular pharmacology

Leadership

Drug discovery

Strategic thinking

Education

PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Pharmacology, Chemical Biology, Cell Biology or related

Job description

Schrödinger seeks a Director/Senior Director of In Vitro Biology and Molecular Pharmacology to lead a high-impact Therapeutics Group focused on undrugged targets, novel modalities, and advanced hit finding. You will shape strategy, oversee cross-functional programs, and manage a talented team to advance discovery pipelines and external partnerships.

You will guide target evaluation, develop assays, and drive innovative approaches across DEL, fragment screening, HTS/MTS, and chemoproteomics,