Remote Senior Computational Chemist — Drug Discovery

Placements24; South Africa; Remote; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote-first

Competitive salary

Health insurance

Retirement plan with company matching

Online courses access

Generous paid time off

Home office stipend

Culture of innovation

Job summary

Placements24 seeks a Senior Computational Chemist to lead advanced simulations and model development for drug discovery and materials science in a remote environment.

The role requires deep expertise in quantum mechanics, MD/DFT, and Python-based tooling, with a track record of publications and collaboration across global teams. This is a remote-first position with flexibility for work across time zones.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry, Cheminformatics, or related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of post-doctoral or industry experience in computational chemistry.
• Expertise in applying quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics methods to chemical systems.
• Proficiency in computational chemistry software packages (e.g., Gaussian, Schrodinger, AMBER, GROMACS).
• Strong programming skills in Python, and experience with scientific computing libraries (e.g., NumPy, SciPy, RDKit).
• Experience with cheminformatics databases and QSAR/QSPR modeling.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and apply computational chemistry methods, including molecular modeling, QM/MM, DFT, and MD simulations.
• Design and virtually screen potential drug candidates or novel materials based on computational predictions.
• Collaborate with synthetic chemists, biologists, and materials scientists to guide experimental design and interpretation.
• Develop and implement cheminformatics tools and algorithms for data analysis and property prediction.
• Optimize computational workflows for efficiency and accuracy.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in computational chemistry software and methodologies.
• Contribute to scientific publications, patent applications, and presentations.
• Manage computational resources and data storage effectively.
• Mentor junior computational chemists and provide technical guidance.
• Communicate complex computational results clearly to interdisciplinary teams.

Skills

Python programming

Molecular modeling

QM/MM methods

Data analysis

Communication

Education

PhD in Computational Chemistry or related field

Tools

Gaussian

Schrodinger

AMBER

GROMACS

RDKit

Job description

Placements24 seeks a Senior Computational Chemist to lead advanced simulations and model development for drug discovery and materials science in a remote environment.

The role requires deep expertise in quantum mechanics, MD/DFT, and Python-based tooling, with a track record of publications and collaboration across global teams. This is a remote-first position with flexibility for work across time zones.