Senior Director, Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Discovery

Proclinical Consulting; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Proclinical Consulting is partnering with a clinical-stage biotechnology company in the San Francisco Bay Area to recruit a Director of Medicinal Chemistry. You will lead multidisciplinary drug discovery programmes from hit identification through to development candidate nomination, shaping strategy across DMPK, pharmacology and toxicology.

This senior role requires a PhD and 10+ years' experience, with a track record of advancing compounds toward IND-enabling studies, managing external CROs,

Qualifications

• PhD in Medicinal Chemistry or closely related discipline.
• 10+ years of biotech/pharma drug discovery experience.
• Proven success driving hit-to-lead and candidate nomination.
• Strong SAR, DMPK, ADME/PK, pharmacology and toxicology expertise.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and mentoring scientists.
• Experience managing outsourced medicinal chemistry and CRO partners.
• Excellent scientific communication and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Lead medicinal chemistry programmes from hit identification through candidate selection.
• Develop cross-programme medicinal chemistry and drug-design strategies.
• Drive SAR and multi-parameter optimisation across projects.
• Integrate potency, ADME, PK, pharmacology data into design decisions.
• Manage and mentor medicinal chemistry staff.
• Collaborate with DMPK, biology, toxicology, computational chemistry and structural biology teams.
• Lead external CRO programmes and partnerships.
• Evaluate data and present recommendations to senior leadership.
• Contribute to IP strategy and scientific innovation.

Skills

Medicinal chemistry

Drug discovery

SAR

DMPK/ADME

Pharmacology

Toxicology

Leadership

Mentoring

CRO management

Communication

Education

PhD in Medicinal Chemistry

Job description

Proclinical Consulting is partnering with a clinical-stage biotechnology company in the San Francisco Bay Area to recruit a Director of Medicinal Chemistry. You will lead multidisciplinary drug discovery programmes from hit identification through to development candidate nomination, shaping strategy across DMPK, pharmacology and toxicology.

This senior role requires a PhD and 10+ years' experience, with a track record of advancing compounds toward IND-enabling studies, managing external CROs,