Sr. Scientist/Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

General Proximity; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top-tier medical, dental, and vision coverage

Equity incentives

Education and fitness incentive programs

Reading budget

Job summary

General Proximity is seeking a Scientist II/Senior Scientist in Medicinal Chemistry. This position offers the unique opportunity to join a seed-stage startup dedicated to developing next-generation drug discovery technologies. You will contribute to the design and optimization of cutting-edge therapeutics, specifically induced proximity medicines. Collaboration with interdisciplinary teams is crucial, as is leveraging your medicinal chemistry expertise to drive the company's innovative goals and impact patient care.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3+ years of industry experience in small-molecule drug discovery.
• Strong foundation in medicinal chemistry and disease-focused drug discovery.
• Experience in optimizing induced proximity medicines, including PROTACs.

Responsibilities

• Design and advance medicinal chemistry strategies for induced proximity medicines.
• Manage external chemistry CROs and drive synthesis programs.
• Partner closely with biology and platform teams for compound evaluation.

Skills

Medicinal chemistry expertise

Creative problem-solving

Project management

Collaboration with cross-functional teams

Education

PhD in Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry

Job description

Scientist II/Senior Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

tl;dr

General Proximity is a seed‑stage startup developing the next generation of induced proximity medicines (IPMs). Our OmniTAC drug discovery engine furnishes molecules that co‑opt existing cellular machinery to overcome therapeutic challenges, which have remained unapproachable to other modalities for decades.

We are seeking a first‑rate medicinal chemist to help us pioneer this uncharted frontier of drug discovery.

Our Story

A long‑standing challenge in drug discovery is the development of molecules capable of modulating difficult or “undruggable” targets. Disease‑causing proteins can be dysfunctional in many different ways, but our armamentarium for fixing them is quite limited. The most common mechanism of action for FDA‑approved drugs is inhibition[1] , but there are many other possible perturbation types whose potential remains unrealized.

General Proximity is a seed‑stage drug discovery company developing a novel platform technology to solve this problem. We make bifunctional drugs that induce the modification of drug targets by existing cellular machinery (rather than through direct modulation by the drug, the classical approach).

Historically, the development of technologies that allow one to push new buttons in biology has been an incredibly fertile field for the discovery of new medicines[2 , 3 , 4 ], and our technology holds the same promise.

The Position

We are seeking an extraordinary medicinal chemist to join our Chemistry and Drug Discovery team. This is a rare opportunity to help build a next‑generation drug discovery company from the ground up and contribute directly to the creation of a novel class of therapeutics.

In this role, you will work at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and platform innovation, partnering closely with cross‑functional teams to advance our core discovery capabilities and drive programs from concept through lead optimization. You will play a central role in molecular design of next generation IPMs, external execution, planning compound screening in routine biophysical or cellular assays and driving data interpretation, and scientific strategy, with the chance to make an outsized impact in a fast‑moving startup environment.

We are looking for a scientist who combines deep medicinal chemistry expertise with creativity, urgency, and a rigorous builder’s mindset.

What You’ll Do

• Design and advance medicinal chemistry strategies for next‑generation induced proximity medicines, including PROTACs and related modalities
• Lead compound design and SAR campaigns from hit finding through hit‑to‑lead and lead optimization
• Manage external chemistry CROs, including compound design prioritization, synthetic execution, timelines, and data review
• Direct external DMPK studies and interpret in vitro and in vivo data to guide compound progression
• Partner closely with Biology and Platform teams to design screening strategies and support compound evaluation in biochemical, biophysical, and cellular assays
• Contribute to mechanistic studies that strengthen understanding of lead molecules and inform program direction
• Support intellectual property strategy through invention generation and contributions to patent filings
• Help evaluate and expand opportunities into new disease areas and therapeutic applications

About You

High Agency. Initiative, independence, and self‑accountability are some of our most valued traits.

Enthusiastic. We love people who are excited about what they are doing and are generally attempting to build a high‑energy team.

Intensity and Grit. Early‑stage startups are hard. Drug discovery is doubly so. We are looking for candidates who have a demonstrated ability to stick with complex problems for the long haul, with a team that has your back along the way.

Prosocial. We are here to create life‑saving medicines for the patients who need it most. You should be, too.

Qualifications & Nice‑To‑Haves

• PhD in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a related field
• A minimum of 3+ years of industry experience in small‑molecule drug discovery
• Strong foundation in medicinal chemistry and its application to disease‑focused drug discovery
• Experience designing, synthesizing, and optimizing induced proximity medicines, including PROTACs or related approaches
• Experience across hit finding, hit‑to‑lead, and lead optimization
• Demonstrated success optimizing compounds for oral exposure and interpreting pharmacokinetic data across multiple species
• Deep understanding of physicochemical properties and in vitro DMPK parameters, including solubility, permeability, metabolic stability, and plasma protein binding, and how to apply them to lead optimization
• Experience managing external chemistry CROs and driving synthetic programs efficiently
• Nice to have:
  • Experience contributing to programs that advanced from discovery into clinical development
  • Background in computational chemistry, molecular modeling, or molecular dynamics
  • Familiarity with chemical biology or structural biology techniques, including assay development, compound profiling, pulldown experiments, protein purification, or crystallography
  • Experience with HTS or phenotypic screening
  • Experience in proteomics, including PTM analysis or chemoproteomic target deconvolution

Why Join Us

• Core‑team opportunity with meaningful scientific ownership and visibility
• The chance to help shape a new therapeutic modality and discovery platform
• Close collaboration with a highly ambitious, interdisciplinary team
• A dynamic startup environment where strong ideas and decisive execution matter
• The opportunity to make a direct impact on the future direction of the company and its pipeline
• Strong equity incentives. We are looking for candidates who will bring a strong sense of ownership to drive their project areas forward, and we believe that you deserve to be compensated accordingly.
• Top tier medical, dental, and vision coverage + One Medical membership.
• Education and health/fitness incentive programs.
• Meditation retreats—do a ten‑day Vipassana retreat without counting towards vacation days.
• Reading budget! We will buy you books.
• Located in the MBC BioLabs at 135 Mississippi Street, an entrepreneurial hub full of the best scientists and operators the Bay Area has to offer. Our lab is a very short walk from the 22nd St Caltrain Station and a number of wonderful restaurants and cafés.

About Us

Work Hard/Play Hard. We believe time is our most valuable commodity, so we strive to create a culture that reflects this. We won’t drag you through unnecessary meetings or email you at 7 PM on a Saturday. When we're at work, we’re there to get things done, and when we’re off, we’re really off.

Strong Communication. We like well‑written documents over PowerPoints, OKRs over vague mission statements, and weekly one‑on‑ones over yearly reviews.

Writing First. We have a “writing‑first” culture. We believe that clarity of writing reflects clarity of thinking and that the benefits of well‑written documentation in a scientific environment are innumerable—democratization of ideation and decision‑making, increased reproducibility, quicker scaling and onboarding, and better company‑wide alignment, to name a few.

Growth. As an early‑stage startup, we value scientists with an independent, can‑do attitude. The more hats you can wear, the better. Our job as employers is to put you in positive feedback loops so you can grow in the direction of your choosing.

Title and compensation commensurate with experience. Applications from candidates of diverse backgrounds, women, and members of underrepresented minority groups are particularly welcomed. We look forward to hearing from you. :)