Director, Medicinal Chemistry

US$200000 - US$250000 per annum
  1. Permanent
  2. Medicinal Chemistry
  3. United States
San Francisco, USA
Posting date: 04 Nov 2026
71217

Director, Medicinal Chemistry - Permanent - San Francisco Bay Area

Looking for an opportunity to lead high-impact drug discovery programmes and influence R&D strategy within an innovative clinical-stage biotechnology company?

Proclinical is working alongside an innovative, clinical-stage biotechnology company who are looking to appoint an experienced Director of Medicinal Chemistry to play a key leadership role within its discovery organisation.

Primary Responsibilities:

This is an opportunity for an accomplished medicinal chemist to lead multidisciplinary drug discovery programmes from hit identification and lead optimisation through to development candidate selection, while managing and mentoring scientists and providing strategic scientific direction across internal and external research teams.

The successful candidate will combine deep expertise in medicinal chemistry and small molecule drug discovery with a strong understanding of DMPK, ADME, pharmacology and toxicology. Experience working with peptides, macrocycles or other complex modalities would be particularly valuable.

Skills & Requirements:

  • PhD in Medicinal Chemistry, Synthetic Organic Chemistry or a closely related discipline.
  • 10+ years of experience within biotechnology or pharmaceutical drug discovery.
  • Extensive experience in medicinal chemistry, drug design and synthetic organic chemistry.
  • Demonstrated success progressing discovery programmes through hit-to-lead, lead optimisation and development candidate nomination.
  • Strong understanding of SAR, DMPK, ADME/PK, pharmacology and toxicology.
  • Experience leading multidisciplinary drug discovery teams and mentoring scientists.
  • Experience managing outsourced medicinal chemistry activities and external CRO partners.
  • Strong scientific communication and stakeholder-management skills.
  • Experience with peptide therapeutics, macrocycles or complex drug modalities would be advantageous.
  • Experience supporting compounds progressing toward IND-enabling studies or first-in-human development would be highly desirable.

The Director, Medicinal Chemistry's responsibilities will be:

  • Lead medicinal chemistry programmes from hit identification through lead optimisation and candidate selection.
  • Develop medicinal chemistry and drug-design strategies across multiple discovery programmes.
  • Drive structure-activity relationship (SAR) and multi-parameter optimisation strategies.
  • Integrate potency, selectivity, physicochemical properties, ADME, PK, pharmacology and toxicology data into compound-design decisions.
  • Manage and mentor medicinal chemistry scientists.
  • Collaborate closely with DMPK, biology, pharmacology, toxicology, computational chemistry and structural biology teams.
  • Lead and manage external chemistry programmes with CRO and research partners.
  • Evaluate programme data and communicate recommendations to senior scientific leadership.
  • Contribute to intellectual property strategy and scientific innovation.

Compensation:

  • $200,000 to $250,000 per annum.

Why consider this opportunity?

This is a senior scientific leadership position offering the opportunity to influence drug discovery strategy while remaining close to the science.

You will work across innovative discovery programmes, lead talented scientists and collaborate with specialists across medicinal chemistry, DMPK, pharmacology and computational drug design to help translate promising molecules into potential new medicines.

If you are having difficulty in applying or if you have any questions, please contact Neil Walton at n.walton@proclinical.com

If you are interested in applying to this exciting opportunity, then please click 'Apply' or to speak to one of our specialists please request a call back at the top of this page.

Proclinical is a leading life sciences recruiter focused on finding exceptional people and matching them with the finest positions across the globe. Proclinical is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

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