Principal Chemist: Small Molecule Drug Discovery (Hybrid)

Placements24; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Competitive salary and bonus structure

Health and wellness programs

Professional growth and conference/pub

Job summary

Placements24 in Cape Town invites a Principal Chemist to lead R&D in their pharmaceutical division. You will design, synthesize, and characterize novel small molecules for therapeutic use, guiding projects from conception through preclinical stages.

The role leverages expertise in organic and medicinal chemistry, SAR analysis, and computational tools, with leadership responsibilities in a hybrid work setting.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry or closely related field.
• 8+ years in pharmaceutical R&D with focus on small molecule drug discovery.
• Expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, reaction mechanisms and stereoselective synthesis.
• Proficiency in modern analytical techniques for compound characterization.
• Experience with SAR analysis and computational chemistry tools.
• Strong leadership, project management and communication skills in a hybrid work setting.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and synthesis of novel chemical entities with pharmacological profiles.
• Develop and optimize synthetic routes for target compounds for scalability and reproducibility.
• Characterize compounds using NMR, MS, HPLC and related methods.
• Collaborate with biologists and pharmacologists to evaluate lead compounds.
• Manage research projects including resources, timelines and risk assessment.
• Stay updated on literature and advances in medicinal and synthetic chemistry.

Skills

Synthetic organic chemistry

Reaction mechanisms

Stereoselective synthesis

Analytical techniques

SAR analysis

Computational chemistry

Education

Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry

Tools

Computational chemistry tools

Job description

Placements24 in Cape Town invites a Principal Chemist to lead R&D in their pharmaceutical division. You will design, synthesize, and characterize novel small molecules for therapeutic use, guiding projects from conception through preclinical stages.

The role leverages expertise in organic and medicinal chemistry, SAR analysis, and computational tools, with leadership responsibilities in a hybrid work setting.