Scientific Director, Discovery Pharmaceutics

Scorpion Therapeutics; Spring House (PA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Scorpion Therapeutics seeks a Scientific Director, Discovery Pharmaceutics to lead a global team supporting drug discovery from hit-to-lead to candidate selection within Johnson & Johnson's Innovative Medicine division.

The role emphasizes developability assessments across modalities and strategic oversight of preclinical formulation, characterization, and data analytics, while collaborating across disciplines to influence early design decisions.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s with extensive drug discovery experience.
• Proven leadership and talent development abilities.
• Strong knowledge of ADME, preclinical safety, and developability assessments.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific and strategic leadership on developability assessments for diverse modalities.
• Oversee physical characterization, biopharmaceutical evaluation, and preclinical formulation.
• Develop innovative screening tools and enhance data analytics.
• Influence early compound design for optimized delivery and patient compliance.
• Collaborate across chemistry, biology, PK, and safety teams; manage portfolio deliverables.

Skills

Leadership

ADME knowledge

Developability assessments

Communication

Collaboration

Problem-solving

Digital analytics

Education

PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, or related field

Master’s degree with 18+ years experience

Job description

Role

Scientific Director, Discovery Pharmaceutics leading a global team supporting drug discovery from hit-to-lead to candidate selection within Johnson & Johnson's Innovative Medicine division.

Responsibilities

provide scientific and strategic leadership on developability assessments for synthetic modalities (small molecules, degraders, peptides, oligonucleotides, conjugates), oversee physical characterization, biopharmaceutical evaluation, and preclinical formulation for diverse delivery routes; develop innovative screening tools, enhance digital data analytics, and influence early compound design for optimized drug delivery and patient compliance; collaborate across disciplines including chemistry, biology, pharmacokinetics, and safety; support transition to development and manage portfolio deliverables.

Requirements

PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, or related field with 12+ years (or Master’s with 18+ years) experience; proven talent development, leadership skills, and extensive knowledge of ADME, preclinical safety, and developability assessments; strong communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

High-Value

focus on innovative synthetic modalities, early discovery to clinical transition, cross-functional collaboration, and advanced formulation strategies.

Work Setup

based in Spring House, PA, with an emphasis on leadership and strategic oversight.