Peptide Chemistry Scientist — ML-Driven Drug Discovery

Calico Life Sciences; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Two annual cash bonuses

Job summary

Calico Life Sciences seeks a scientist to drive peptide drug discovery in a cross-disciplinary environment. You will work at the intersection of empirical medicinal chemistry and Calico's ML peptide design platform to optimize therapeutic peptides through a rapid design–make–test cycle.

You will collaborate with ML scientists, medicinal chemists, automation specialists, and biologists to accelerate SAR-driven optimization and contribute to a world-class synthetic engine.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Peptide Chemistry, or related discipline with 0–2 years of industry experience in drug discovery.
• Experience in peptide hit discovery, SAR campaigns, ADMET optimization, and peptide formulation.
• Proven experience building and interpreting complex assay cascades, including biophysical characterization and cell-based assays.
• Hands-on expertise in automated synthesis and purification (HPLC, Flash, SPE) and characterization (LCMS, NMR, CD).
• Ability to develop diverse chemistries including backbone-modifications and macrocyclization.

Responsibilities

• Drive peptide drug discovery campaigns from hits to IND-enabling studies.
• Onboard and optimize novel chemistries for high-throughput, automated peptide synthesis; build a diverse building-block library.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with biology, software, automation, and pharmacology teams.
• Mentor junior scientists and foster technical excellence and collaboration.
• Manage external collaborations and CROs, coordinating chemists, DMPK scientists, and formulation experts.

Skills

Peptide chemistry

SAR analysis

Biophysical assays

Automated synthesis

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

PhD in Organic Chemistry or Peptide Chemistry

Tools

HPLC

LCMS

NMR

CD spectroscopy

Job description

Calico Life Sciences seeks a scientist to drive peptide drug discovery in a cross-disciplinary environment. You will work at the intersection of empirical medicinal chemistry and Calico's ML peptide design platform to optimize therapeutic peptides through a rapid design–make–test cycle.

You will collaborate with ML scientists, medicinal chemists, automation specialists, and biologists to accelerate SAR-driven optimization and contribute to a world-class synthetic engine.