Lead Computational Chemist — Drug Discovery Lead (Tembisa)

Placements24; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,500,000 - 2,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Long-term incentive plans

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Retirement savings plan

Conference funding

Paid time off

Job summary

Placements24 seeks a Lead Computational Chemist for a pioneering biopharmaceutical company in Tembisa, Gauteng. You will guide a team of computational chemists and data scientists to design, predict, and optimize novel molecules, translating targets into viable drug candidates.

The role requires a PhD and 7+ years in drug discovery, with expertise in Schrödinger, MOE, and Discovery Studio, plus Python/Perl workflow skills.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computational Chemistry, Cheminformatics or related field.
• 7+ years in computational chemistry with drug discovery experience.
• Expertise with molecular modeling software and visualization tools.
• Programming experience (Python/Perl) for workflow automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of computational chemists and data scientists.
• Develop and implement advanced computational strategies for hit identification and lead optimization.
• Use molecular modeling, docking, virtual screening, and QSAR to guide drug design.
• Integrate structural biology data and ADMET into workflows.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists to design synthesis targets and interpret results.
• Manage computational resources and large-scale simulations.
• Present findings to stakeholders and drive project strategy.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Project delivery

Team mentoring

Education

Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry or related field

Tools

Schrödinger Suite

MOE

Discovery Studio

Python

Perl

Job description

Placements24 seeks a Lead Computational Chemist for a pioneering biopharmaceutical company in Tembisa, Gauteng. You will guide a team of computational chemists and data scientists to design, predict, and optimize novel molecules, translating targets into viable drug candidates.

The role requires a PhD and 7+ years in drug discovery, with expertise in Schrödinger, MOE, and Discovery Studio, plus Python/Perl workflow skills.