Director - Medicinal Chemistry
Plexium, United States
Job Description
Plexium is a San Diego-based drug discovery company whose purpose is to develop impactful therapies for human diseases through unlocking the potential of E3 ligase-mediated targeted protein degradation. We are a close-knit team of drug discovery and engineering experts using pioneering platform technologies to discover and develop transformative new drug modalities. Plexium has an open work environment with a positive, friendly, and collaborative culture. We are committed to fostering innovation and encouraging cross-functional collaboration and supporting the growth and development of our team members
We are seeking a Director, Medicinal Chemistry to be part our drug discovery team. The successful candidate will have with expertise in medicinal chemistry and small molecule drug discovery, including a track record of delivering IND-candidate molecules, ideally using deep knowledge of structure-based drug discovery, incorporation of physical property-based drug likeness principles, and use of parallel chemistry and libraries. Experience of E3 ligase drug discovery (e.g. PROTACs and/or ’molecular glues’) and DNA-encoded library technologies is preferred. Specific responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Develop and implement innovative medicinal chemistry strategies to achieve project goals
- Design and synthesize new analogues, interpret in vitro and in vivo biological and ADME/PK data, and optimize the properties of chemical matter
- Integrate 3D structural information, computational modeling and knowledge of the impact of drug-like physical properties in compound design
- Synthesize singleton compounds, solution- and solid-phase libraries as appropriate
- Use excellent chemistry knowledge to solve synthesis issues, on milligram- to gram-scale
- Work as part of a multidisciplinary drug discovery team, on multiple projects simultaneously
- Positively enable, mentor and guide other medicinal chemists and team members and may supervise other medicinal chemists
- Managing external synthetic chemistry CRO resources to high levels of productivity
- Contribute well researched ideas for new projects
- Be a role model for others by demonstrating the highest standards of scientific rigor, teamworking and communication
- Qualification prerequisites Ph.D. degree in synthetic organic, medicinal chemistry or chemical biology with at least 10 years of industrial drug discovery work experience in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry.
Requirements
- Extensive medicinal chemistry experience with a track record of bringing effective and innovative solutions to bear to advance drug discovery projects to IND-drug candidate stage. Excellent knowledge of structure-based drug design and physical property-based optimization of drug-like properties and ADME/PK profiles.
- Expert synthetic chemistry knowledge and problem-solving skills. Practical experience in singleton synthesis and parallel/solution-phase library design and synthesis and, ideally, experience with solid-phase library synthesis.
- Experience of E3 ligase drug discovery (e.g. PROTACs and/or ’molecular glues’) and DNA-encoded library technologies is preferred.
- Background in oncology or neuroscience is preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to work in drug discovery teams and lead through influence.
- Strong record of managing external CRO chemistry resources to high levels of productivity.
- Effective and motivated team player with a high degree of independence, innovative and critical thinking skills, with the ability to adapt to changing projects and work assignments, excellent time management, organizational skills and strong communication skills, both written and oral.