Principal Research Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry
IDEAYA Biosciences
Summary
We are seeking a talented and highly motivated individual with significant pharmaceutical industry experience to join our multidisciplinary team as a discovery medicinal chemist. The successful candidate will impact programs by being highly productive in lab and by rationally proposing target molecules that overcome liabilities to deliver clinical candidates molecules. You will be a part of dynamic, cross-functional teams that successfully deliver drug discovery pipeline goals. This position is based in our South San Francisco headquarter offices and required to be onsite five days per week per our company policy.
Job description
What you'll do
- Apply modern synthetic techniques to prepare complex chemical targets to advance cutting-edge oncology programs and deliver high-quality molecules at a very productive rate
- Design high-confidence reaction sequences that avoid known liabilities and reduce difficult purifications
- Rapidly gather reaction information and troubleshoot problematic transformations
- Plan ahead and multitask in and out of the lab to maintain high productivity
- Deliver molecules on scales from 10 mg to > 25 g
- Help manage external synthetic chemistry resources to high productivity
- Follow SAR data and leverage medicinal chemistry knowledge to propose targets that address critical issues within a chemical series
- Champion design and synthesis efforts into new directions as needed to achieve goals
- Clearly and concisely communicate results and strategy to inform and influence others
- Use structure-based design skills and modern computational tools to design targets with improved affinity and selectivity profiles
Requirements
- Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry
- 3-8 years of pharmaceutical industry medicinal chemistry experience
- Excellent scientific expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, including asymmetric reactions and modern cross-coupling techniques
- Strong knowledge of modern chemistry literature
- In-depth knowledge of a wide range of purification and spectroscopic characterization techniques
- Demonstrated ability to maintain high productivity in the lab and synthesize complicated chemical structures
- Ability to develop new chemistry that is both practical and scalable
- Ability to regularly troubleshoot synthetic problems and provide practical and creative solutions
- Ability to keep good scientific records
- Ability to identify the most critical issues with the lead chemical matter for a project
- Ability to multi-task and set priorities in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
- Ability to work well in diverse, multi-disciplinary teams
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Strong knowledge of medicinal chemistry concepts, including structure-based target design, SAR-driven target design, multi-parameter optimization, physicochemical properties of drugs, and ADME and pharmacological principles
- Ability to use modern computational tools to understand trends in biological data and ligand binding
- Desire to continually learn drug discovery concepts and structure-based design concepts and to stay current with the field while mentoring others
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- 401(k)
- ESPP
- Wellness Programs
- Short-term Incentive Plan
- Stock Option Awards
Company overview
IDEAYA Biosciences is a clinical-stage precision medicine oncology company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2015, the company is dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of transformative therapies for cancer patients. IDEAYA's innovative approach integrates expertise in small-molecule drug discovery, structural biology, and bioinformatics with robust internal capabilities in identifying and validating translational biomarkers. The company focuses on developing tailored, potentially first-in-class targeted therapies aligned with the genetic drivers of disease, with a primary emphasis on synthetic lethality – an emerging class of precision medicine targets. IDEAYA has built a deep pipeline of product candidates focused on synthetic lethality and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for molecularly defined solid tumor indications. The company's mission is to bring forth the next wave of precision oncology therapies that are more selective, more effective, and deeply personalized, with the goal of altering the course of disease and improving clinical outcomes for cancer patients. IDEAYA went public on NASDAQ in May 2019 (NASDAQ: IDYA) and has established strategic collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Gilead Sciences, and GlaxoSmithKline.