Director/Senior Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Job Summary

We seek an accomplished and creative medicinal chemistry leader with a proven track record of success in advancing drug discovery programs, setting scientific strategy, and leading cross‑functional teams to deliver impact. Candidates should be motivated to work in an intensely collaborative, multidisciplinary, team‑based setting. The role will entail leading drug discovery projects, coordinating a medicinal chemistry team with internal and external experimental capabilities, and proactively interfacing with diverse teams working on automated experimentation, ML‑driven molecular generation, property predictions, and bioassay data generation.

This position will be on‑site at our San Diego Headquarters.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a group of project scientists and drive molecular discovery efforts to deliver development and clinical candidates
• Devise strategies to execute hit ID, identify lead molecules and optimize them for potency, selectivity, and ADME properties using multivariant SAR analysis and hypothesis‑driven design principles
• Act as a liaison between Iambic, CROs, and other external collaborators, including partnered research projects
• Influence the prospective use of computational methods and leverage automated synthesis and high‑throughput experimentation capabilities
• Work closely with AI/ML teams to develop and implement relevant predictive models to aid in the design of new molecules
• Contribute to platform development by collaborating with AI/ML and chemistry automation teams to enhance processes and accelerate the design–make–test (DMT) cycle
• Communicate project updates clearly and effectively to the broader team and key stakeholders
• Work as a senior member of the Chemistry research group and foster a culture of scientific excellence, innovation, and teamwork

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry with 15+ years of pharma/biotech drug discovery experience (portfolio of programs from hit/lead to development candidate) or MS/BS with 20+ years of experience
• Expertise in modern synthetic organic chemistry, evidenced by high‑quality publications and patents
• Proven cross‑functional leadership: integrating biology, DMPK/ADME, CADD, and CMC to build and execute strategic project plans
• Practical experience and working knowledge of target protein degradation and associated modalities (molecular glues, PROTACs)
• Track record of program leadership advancing compounds through preclinical development (candidate nomination, IND‑enabling interfaces, CRO oversight)
• Experience working with computational chemists as part of a project team in the design of drug targets is required
• Strong interpersonal, communication, time management, and leadership skills
• Experience mentoring or leading junior chemists
• Creative problem solving and management of relationships with several stakeholders within and beyond the company

Pay and Benefits

We offer industry‑leading competitive pay, company‑paid healthcare, flexible spending accounts, voluntary life insurance, 401(k) matching, and uncapped vacation to our team. We are in a brand‑new state‑of‑the‑art facility in beautiful San Diego with an onsite gym, dining, and easy access to great places to live and play.

Compensation Range: $196K – $280K