Associate Director / Director, Computational Chemistry

Well-funded biotech in SSF seeks a Computational Chemistry Director or Associate Director with experience in CADD- and structure-based design for lead optimization of small molecules to advance the pipeline of innovative therapeutics toward the clinic. **Onsite in South San Francisco Monday through Friday (5 days/week)** Highlights : Reports to SVP, Discovery Potential to have one or more direct reports Two lead targets: CNS oncology + neurodegeneration Financial runway forecasted through Spring 2027 ~25 full-time employees Responsibilities : Provide strategic leadership and hands-on execution of our CADD efforts Collaborate closely with chemists and biologists on virtual screening, hit identification and structure-based design Guide the optimization of drug candidates that induce protein degradation Use machine-learning (ML) to build in silica models to predict DMPK properties Perform and automate high throughput molecular dynamics simulations to predict protein function and protein-ligand binding Utilize established tools and design new methods/tools Scientific programming as needed Required Qualifications: PhD in Computational Chemistry or related discipline 7+ years of relevant experience in drug discovery Computer aided drug design (CADD) /structure- and ligand-based design for small molecules Dotmatics, Schrodinger, MOE, OpenEye, or Gaussian software QSAR, QSPR, and conformational analysis Molecular mechanics and dynamics simulations Preferred Skills & Knowledge: Understanding of in vitro and in vivo DMPK principles Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) approaches to predictive modeling Quantum mechanics methods Statistical design of experiments (DoE) Multiparameter optimization Experimental assay methods and technology for protein-ligand interactions Programming with languages such as perl, python, or C++ Cheminformatics / database algorithms Emerging drug modalities such as covalent inhibitors, bifunctionals, molecular glues and/or PROTACs

Created: 2025-10-02