Member of Technical Staff - Chemistry

Warp; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Warp is seeking a Scientist in Medicinal Chemistry to design and execute multi-step organic syntheses for drug discovery programs. You will partner with AI scientists and roboticists to translate bench chemistry into automated workflows, while delivering high-quality data for machine learning models.

This hands-on role requires strong technical execution, sound chemical judgment, and the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, client-driven environment.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Chemistry or related field.
• 0–3 years of relevant synthetic organic chemistry experience.
• Hands-on experience with multi-step synthesis and purification.
• Ability to design and evaluate synthetic routes; familiarity with retrosynthesis.
• Experience interpreting analytical data (NMR, LCMS, HPLC) and confirming structure/purity.
• Strong safety culture and good ELN documentation habits.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Design, plan, and execute multi-step organic synthesis for client programs.
• Propose and evaluate synthetic routes, including retrosynthetic analysis.
• Optimize reactions and troubleshoot issues with mechanistic reasoning.
• Purify and characterize intermediates and final compounds (LCMS, NMR, HPLC).
• Record procedures and results in ELN and ensure data quality.
• Support scale-up of intermediates and final compounds as needed.
• Communicate progress and route strategy to project leaders and clients.
• Generate clean data suitable for ML training and model development.
• Collaborate with AI scientists and roboticists to adapt protocols for automation.
• Provide feedback on automated workflows and troubleshoot discrepancies.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of synthetic methods and workflows.
• Maintain safety protocols and proper disposal of hazardous materials.

Skills

Multi-step synthesis

Retrosynthetic analysis

Data interpretation (NMR/LCMS/HPLC)

ELN documentation

Communicating results

Education

BS/MS in Chemistry/Organic/Medicinal Chemistry

Tools

LCMS

HPLC

NMR

Job description

Position Summary

Our organization combines synthetic chemistry expertise with robotics and automation: Our long term vision is to build an autonomous synthetic chemistry lab that delivers small-molecule discovery chemistry services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. We are seeking a Scientist to join our Medicinal Chemistry group and contribute directly to client drug discovery programs. The successful candidate will design and execute multi-step organic syntheses, propose and evaluate synthetic routes, and generate high-quality compounds and data in support of hit-to-lead and lead optimization campaigns. Beyond bench chemistry, this role plays a key part in our automation mission: the compounds, reactions, and characterization data generated will help build structured, high-quality training datasets for machine learning models, and the chemist will work directly with AI scientists and roboticists to translate synthetic know-how into automated and self-optimizing chemistry platforms. This is a hands-on role requiring strong technical execution, sound chemical judgment, and comfort operating at the interface of traditional bench chemistry and emerging lab automation.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, plan, and execute multi-step organic synthesis of target compounds in support of client medicinal chemistry and hit-to-lead/lead optimization programs.

• Propose and evaluate synthetic routes, including retrosynthetic analysis, selection of viable pathways, and identification of scalable, cost-effective alternatives.

• Perform reaction optimization (yield, selectivity, purity, scalability) and troubleshoot synthetic problems using sound mechanistic reasoning.

• Purify and characterize intermediates and final compounds using standard techniques (column chromatography, prep-HPLC, recrystallization) and analytical methods (LCMS, NMR, HPLC, HRMS).

• Accurately and promptly record experimental procedures, observations, and results in electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN) in accordance with company and client documentation standards.

• Support scale-up of key intermediates and final compounds as required by project needs.

• Communicate progress, data, and route strategy clearly and regularly to project leaders and, where applicable, directly to client scientists.

• Generate clean, well-structured experimental data (reaction inputs/outputs, conditions, yields, analytical results) suitable for use as high-quality training data for machine learning and reaction-prediction models.

• Partner closely with AI scientists and roboticists to translate synthetic routes and bench protocols into procedures executable on automated/robotic synthesis platforms, providing chemistry expertise during platform design, testing, and validation.

• Provide hands-on feedback on automated workflows (liquid handling, automated reaction setup, in-line analytics) and help troubleshoot discrepancies between manual and automated execution of chemistry.

• Support iterative improvement of self-driving lab and automated chemistry capabilities by flagging edge cases, failure modes, and data quality issues encountered at the bench.

• Maintain compliance with laboratory safety protocols, chemical hygiene procedures, and proper handling/disposal of hazardous materials.

• Manage time and priorities effectively across multiple concurrent projects and client deadlines.

• Contribute to continuous improvement of synthetic methods, workflows, and best practices within the chemistry group.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a related discipline.

• 0–3 years of relevant synthetic organic chemistry experience (industry, CRO, or advanced academic/graduate research); internship or co-op experience considered for entry-level candidates.

• Demonstrated hands-on experience with multi-step organic synthesis and standard purification techniques.

• Working knowledge of retrosynthetic analysis and route design principles.

• Proficiency interpreting spectroscopic and analytical data (NMR, LCMS, HPLC) to confirm structure and purity.

• Solid understanding of laboratory safety practices and safe handling of reactive/hazardous chemicals.

• Strong record-keeping and documentation habits; experience with ELN systems is a plus.

• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and shifting priorities in a deadline-driven environment.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data clearly to project teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior CRO, pharmaceutical, or biotech industry experience supporting drug discovery programs.

• Experience with parallel synthesis, medicinal chemistry SAR exploration, or DMPK-informed compound design.

• Familiarity with chemistry software tools (e.g., ChemDraw, electronic notebooks, reaction database/search tools).

• Experience with air- and moisture-sensitive chemistry, flow chemistry, or automated/robotic synthesis platforms.

• Interest or prior experience in AI/ML-driven chemistry, cheminformatics, or self-driving laboratory concepts, and enthusiasm for collaborating with AI scientists and roboticists on lab automation.

• Comfort working with structured data entry and an appreciation for how data quality and consistency affect downstream machine learning model performance.

• Track record of authorship or contribution to publications, patents, or internal technical reports.

Work Environment / Physical Requirements

• Primarily laboratory-based role requiring extended periods standing at the bench and working with standard synthetic chemistry equipment.

• Regular exposure to laboratory chemicals, solvents, and reagents; strict adherence to PPE and safety protocols is required.

• Ability to lift and move laboratory supplies and equipment (up to approximately 25 lbs) as needed.

About Our Organization

We are a contract research organization built at the intersection of medicinal chemistry, robotics, and artificial intelligence. In addition to delivering high-quality synthesis, route scouting, and scale-up support to pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, our chemistry team generates the experimental data that trains our machine learning models and works hand-in-hand with our AI scientists and robotics engineers to build automated and self-optimizing chemistry platforms. Scientists Scientists here gain broad exposure to varied chemotypes and therapeutic areas alongside a front-row seat to the automation of drug discovery chemistry.