Senior Medicinal Chemist – Onsite, Precision Oncology

IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc.; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 177,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site 4 days/wk

Healthcare & 401(k) benefits

Job summary

IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. seeks a highly skilled medicinal chemist to join the discovery team in South San Francisco. The role focuses on designing and synthesizing novel oncology targets and delivering clinical candidates within a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

You will apply modern synthetic strategies, optimize routes, and mentor others while maintaining rigorous scientific standards. The position is onsite at our South San Francisco headquarters with a strong emphasis on

Qualifications

• PhD in synthetic organic chemistry with 3-8 years in pharma medicinal chemistry.
• Expertise in asymmetric reactions and modern cross-coupling techniques.
• Strong purification and spectroscopic characterization skills.
• Proven ability to maintain high lab productivity while meeting safety standards.
• Ability to develop scalable new chemistry and troubleshoot problems.
• Excellent record-keeping and data communication.
• Experience with structure-based design and SAR-driven target design.

Responsibilities

• Apply modern synthetic techniques to advance oncology programs and deliver high-quality molecules.
• Design reaction sequences to avoid liabilities and streamline purification.
• Troubleshoot transformations and gather reaction data.
• Plan and multitask to maintain high throughput in lab.
• Deliver molecules from 10 mg to >25 g scales.
• Manage external synthetic chemistry resources for productivity.
• Leverage SAR and medicinal chemistry knowledge to guide target design.
• Communicate results and strategy clearly to stakeholders.
• Use computational tools to understand trends and ligand binding principles.

Skills

Asymmetric synthesis

Cross-coupling

Purification & spectroscopy

SAR-driven design

Lab productivity

Troubleshooting synthesis

Documentation & record-keeping

Computational tools

Education

PhD in synthetic organic chemistry

Tools

Computational tools

Job description

IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. seeks a highly skilled medicinal chemist to join the discovery team in South San Francisco. The role focuses on designing and synthesizing novel oncology targets and delivering clinical candidates within a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

You will apply modern synthetic strategies, optimize routes, and mentor others while maintaining rigorous scientific standards. The position is onsite at our South San Francisco headquarters with a strong emphasis on