Medicinal Chemistry Scientist I/II — Nucleoside Conjugation

OliX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Paid year-end shutdown and holidays

Job summary

OliX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in San Diego, CA, seeks a Scientist I or II in Medicinal Chemistry to design, synthesize, purify, and characterize small molecules, nucleosides, nucleotides, and conjugation partners for RNAi programs.

You will collaborate with oligonucleotide chemistry and biology teams to translate synthetic insights into RNA therapeutics. You will optimize routes, analyze data (NMR/LC-MS), and contribute to method development, documentation, and training in a fast-paced,

Qualifications

• PhD in Organic or Medicinal Chemistry or related field with 0–3 years postdoc/industry experience; or an MS with 5+ years of relevant industry experience in small-molecule synthesis.
• Strong hands-on experience in synthetic organic chemistry, including retrosynthetic analysis and multistep synthesis.
• Ability to work independently at the bench, troubleshoot syntheses, and assess compound identity and purity using NMR and chromatographic methods.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute multistep syntheses of small molecules, modified nucleosides and nucleotides, linkers, and conjugation partners.
• Develop and optimize synthetic routes, protecting-group strategies, reaction conditions, and purification methods.
• Develop and perform conjugation reactions linking oligonucleotides with small molecules, delivery ligands, or peptides.
• Confirm compound identity and purity using NMR, LC-MS, and HPLC/UHPLC; interpret data and troubleshoot synthesis.
• Collaborate with oligonucleotide chemistry and biology teams to guide compound design and synthesis priorities.
• Maintain clear experimental records and prepare technical reports, SOPs, and batch records; contribute to lab safety and instrument maintenance.

Skills

Synthetic organic chemistry

Retrosynthetic analysis

Multistep synthesis

Reaction optimization

Purification

Analytical data interpretation

Education

PhD in Organic Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry

MS in a related field with 5+ years industry experience

Tools

NMR

LC-MS

HPLC/UHPLC

Job description

OliX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in San Diego, CA, seeks a Scientist I or II in Medicinal Chemistry to design, synthesize, purify, and characterize small molecules, nucleosides, nucleotides, and conjugation partners for RNAi programs.

You will collaborate with oligonucleotide chemistry and biology teams to translate synthetic insights into RNA therapeutics. You will optimize routes, analyze data (NMR/LC-MS), and contribute to method development, documentation, and training in a fast-paced,