Hybrid AI-Driven Scientist, Small-Molecule Drug Discovery

Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 168,000 - 252,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston is seeking a scientific leader to accelerate AI-enabled drug discovery across DMTA, focusing on small-molecule design and expanding to protein therapeutics. This is a Boston-based hybrid position with 3 days onsite.

You will partner with project teams to deploy AI co-scientists, define evaluation frameworks, and drive adoption of responsible AI practices across cross-functional teams in discovery research.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or equivalent with strong research background in computational chemistry or cheminformatics.
• 8+ years applying computational approaches to advance small-molecule drug discovery programs.
• Proven ability to translate scientific opportunities into scalable computational, data science, or AI capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI-enabled scientific workflows and agentic systems for DMTA-driven discovery.
• Define evaluation frameworks, benchmarks, and validation strategies for AI tools.
• Drive platform strategy, adoption, and responsible AI governance across cross-functional teams.
• Collaborate with Drug Discovery, Data & Methods, and Digital Technology to translate needs into scalable capabilities.
• Serve as a thought leader for AI-enabled scientific innovation across Discovery Research.

Skills

Computational chemistry

Cheminformatics

Machine learning

Data science

AI in drug discovery

Scientific communication

Product thinking

Leadership

Protein therapeutics knowledge

Education

Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering or related

Tools

Python

R

Molecular modeling

SMILES/cheminformatics tools

Job description

Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston is seeking a scientific leader to accelerate AI-enabled drug discovery across DMTA, focusing on small-molecule design and expanding to protein therapeutics. This is a Boston-based hybrid position with 3 days onsite.

You will partner with project teams to deploy AI co-scientists, define evaluation frameworks, and drive adoption of responsible AI practices across cross-functional teams in discovery research.