Principal / AD / Director, Agentic AI

Iambic Therapeutics, Inc; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Industry-leading pay

Company-paid healthcare

Flexible spending accounts

Voluntary life insurance

401K matching

Uncapped vacation

State-of-the-art San Diego facility

Job summary

Iambic Therapeutics is seeking an exceptional leader to steer agentic AI workflows across small-molecule drug discovery, accelerating internal research and external partnerships. This hybrid role is based at the San Diego headquarters and co-leads the Iambic Lab of the Future, integrating AI-driven design with automated experiments and real-time data generation.

You will guide design, build, and adoption of multi-step agentic systems, partner with cross-functional teams, and represent the

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent in computational chemistry, ML, structural biology or related discipline.
• 8+ years in drug discovery, ML, or platform-building contexts.
• Proven expertise in designing and deploying AI/ML workflows in life sciences.
• Experience with LLM-based agents, workflow orchestration frameworks, and integration into lab automation.
• Hands-on experience applying ML models (structure prediction, generative chemistry, property prediction) to discovery programs.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional scientific teams in biotech/pharma.
• Excellent scientific communication for diverse internal and external audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical roadmap and day-to-day execution for agentic AI workflows accelerating small-molecule discovery.
• Design, build, and deploy multi-step agentic systems integrating ML molecular design with automated decision loops.
• Drive efficiency gains in discovery collaborations and scalable partnerships.
• Co-lead the Iambic Lab of the Future framework integrating AI design with HTE platforms and automated data pipelines.
• Collaborate with computational, experimental, and data engineering teams to ensure robust, adopted systems.
• Represent Iambic's capabilities at conferences, partnerships, and with academic collaborators.
• Work with senior leadership to align agentic discovery strategy with platform development and business objectives.
• Mentor and grow the agentic AI team.

Skills

AI/ML workflows

LLM-based agents

Workflow orchestration

Cross-functional leadership

Drug discovery experience

Education

PhD in computational chemistry / ML / structural biology

Tools

NeuralPLexer

Enchant

lab automation pipelines

Job description

JOB SUMMARY

Iambic Therapeutics is seeking an exceptional scientific and technology leader to lead the design, build, and adoption of agentic AI workflows across small-molecule drug discovery programs - driving efficiency in both internal research and external partnerships. The role will also co-lead a cross-functional initiative to build the Iambic Lab of the Future: an integrated framework in which AI-driven molecular design, automated high-throughput experimental workflows, and real-time data acquisition operate as a unified system. This is a foundational leadership role at the intersection of AI, drug discovery, and experimental science. This will be a hybrid position, based out of our San Diego Headquarters.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the technical roadmap and day-to-day execution for agentic AI workflows that accelerate small-molecule discovery across Iambic's internal pipeline and portfolio of external collaborations.
• Lead the design, build, and deployment of multi-step agentic systems that integrate ML-based molecular design (including through use of NeuralPLexer, Enchant and related systems) with automated decision-making loops for hypothesis generation, compound prioritization, and experimental triage.
• Drive efficiency gains in discovery collaborations, enabling the creation of sustainable and scalable business opportunities.
• Co-lead the creation of the Iambic Lab of the Future alongside experimental leaders, building a framework that tightly integrates AI molecular design with high-throughput experimental (HTE) platforms and automated data generation pipelines.
• Partner closely with Iambic's computational, experimental, and data engineering teams to ensure agentic systems are scientifically grounded, technically robust, and operationally adopted across discovery programs.
• Represent Iambic's agentic discovery capabilities externally at scientific conferences, in partnership discussions, and with academic collaborators - as a thought leader in AI-driven drug discovery.
• Work closely with senior leadership to develop agentic discovery strategy aligned Iambic's overall platform development, pipeline priorities, and business objectives.
• Develop and mentor a high-performing team, providing technical guidance and growth opportunities as the agentic AI group scales.

QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD in computational chemistry, machine learning, structural biology, chemical biology, or a closely related discipline; equivalent experience considered.
• 8+ years of experience in drug discovery, ML, or platform-building contexts.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and deploying AI/ML workflows, ideally in a drug discovery or life sciences context.
• Experience with LLM-based agents, workflow orchestration frameworks, and integration of ML models into laboratory automation pipelines is strongly preferred.
• Deep familiarity with small-molecule drug discovery including structure-based design, ADMET, and multi-parameter optimization - combined with hands-on experience applying ML models (e.g., structure prediction, generative chemistry, property prediction) to real discovery programs.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional scientific teams and delivering innovative computational or platform capabilities in a fast-paced biotech or pharmaceutical setting.
• Experience working within or alongside external research collaborations or partnerships, with an understanding of how to adapt workflows and tooling for multi-organizational research environments.
• Exceptional scientific communication skills; able to translate complex AI/ML concepts for experimental scientists, business development leaders, and external partners.

ABOUT IAMBIC THERAPEUTICS

Iambic is a clinical-stage life-science and technology company developing novel medicines using its AI-driven discovery and development platform. Based in San Diego and founded in 2020, Iambic has assembled a world-class team that unites pioneering AI experts and experienced drug hunters. The Iambic platform has demonstrated delivery of new drug candidates to human clinical trials with unprecedented speed and across multiple target classes and mechanisms of action. Iambic is advancing a pipeline of potential best-in-class and first-in-class clinical assets, both internally and in partnership, to address urgent unmet patient need. Learn more about the Iambic team, platform, pipeline, and partnerships at iambic.ai.

MISSION & CORE VALUES

Our mission is to deliver better medicines through innovations in AI-based discovery technologies.

The culture and work at Iambic Therapeutics are profoundly strengthened by the diversity of our people and our differences in background, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and life experiences.

We are committed to building an inclusive environment where a diverse group of talented humans work together to discover therapeutics and create technologies.

PAY AND BENEFITS

• We offer industry leading competitive pay
• company paid healthcare
• flexible spending accounts
• voluntary life insurance
• 401K matching
• uncapped vacation to our team
• We are in a brand-new state-of-the art facility in beautiful San Diego with an onsite gym, dining, and easy access to great places to live and play