Associate Director Structural Biology and Biophysics

Theseus Pharmaceuticals is passionately committed to improving the lives of cancer patients by working to outsmart cancer resistance. Led by a team of targeted oncology pioneers with a proven track record developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, we are developing the next generation of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs): “pan-variant” targeted therapies that address all known drug-resistant mutations. We believe a pan-variant approach is the only way to address cancer resistance. Our lead program, THE-630, is a pan-variant KIT inhibitor for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), whose cancer has developed resistance to earlier lines of kinase inhibitor therapy. We are also developing a fourth-generation, selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor to address C797S-mediated resistance to first- or later-line osimertinib treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

For more information, visit theseusrx.com .

Role: Associate Director Structural Biology and Biophysics

Overview

We are seeking an accomplished, dynamic Associate Director of Structural Biology and Biophysics to join our expanding Drug Discovery team and contribute actively to the discovery of new medicines. This individual will lead our Structural Biology and Biophysics efforts across multiple programs overseeing multiple CROs to provide ligand-target co-structures and mechanism of action data to the Discovery team during new chemical matter identification and compound optimization. This individual will play a key role in our CRO selection process, and will work closely with the Computational Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry and Biology teams in managing the matrix of Discovery CROs to provide timely, high quality data to drive discovery goals. This position will play a core role in the Discovery team, and will provide expert knowledge in the areas of protein production, structural biology and biophysics to drive understanding of the impact of activating and drug resistance mutations on enzyme structure and ligand-protein interactions. This individual will champion adoption of new approaches and strategies as we expand our Discovery capabilities, as well as providing vision to the future state of the Discovery platform.

Who are we looking for?

• An expert in experimental protein structure determination, ligand-protein mechanism of action studies, the structural basis of enzyme regulation and in ligand-protein interactions with a consistent track record of success applying these skills in drug discovery.
• This individual also enjoys contributing and sharing their expertise with their colleagues across multiple programs to help drive the drug discovery process and who shares our passion about the company’s mission to discover and develop new medicines.
• A problem-solving, collaborative team player who can leverage their expertise and manage multiple CROs in experimental characterization of drug-protein interactions to maximize the impact of external structural and mechanism of action studies in promoting the broad understanding of compound structure and activity across Discovery projects.

What are we looking for?

• A professional who enjoys working in a dynamic goal-oriented small company working environment, able to function effectively in a expanding matrix of project and discipline-centric team
• A recognized expert with broad Structural Biology and Biophysics experience who can contribute actively in Discovery teams to define and manage experimental strategy as well as to engage with colleagues and management to help guide Discovery platform expansion.
• A reliable goal-oriented collaborator and colleague, who can manage priorities and maintain timelines across multiple project teams.

What are we offering?

• To join a growing team of CARING, experienced and motivated individuals focused on making a positive impact in the lives of cancer patients.
• A dynamic work environment that welcomes discussion and adoption of new approaches to improve our Discovery processes.
• The opportunity to define the future state of Structural Biology and Biophysics at Theseus to enable the discovery of new medicines.

What you will do:

• Manage external Structural Biology, Biophysics and mechanism of action studies across multiple programs and provide expert supervision and guidance to CROs to assure program advancement.
• Lead selection of Structural Biology and Biophysics specific CROs.
• Participate actively with Discovery team to define program specific overall workflows, and incorporation of specific technologies into our drug discovery programs.
• Summarize and present results in both external and internal cross-disciplinary team meetings, working actively to promote efficient program execution.
• Work closely with Computational Chemistry to drive utility of experimental co-structures and structured-guided design acoss project teams.
• Act as core technical expert across multiple programs and work to enhance efficient progression of overall Discovery goals.
• Maintain active knowledge of relevant scientific developments and act as a champion of new approaches.
• Contribute to publications in conferences and journals.

What you will bring:

• PhD in Structural Biology, Biophysics or related field preferred.
• 6+ years relevant experience in pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry with increasing responsibilities
• Expertise in protein expression in bacterial, insect and mammalian systems and protein purification techniques to enable Structural Biology and Biophysics studies.
• Expertise in protein-ligand co-crystallization and compound soaking, X-ray data capture, structure determination and refinement, homology modelling.
• Strong familiarity with biophysical mechanism of action studies- e.g. fluorescence, thermal shift, calorimetry, surface plasmon resonance and mass spectrometry.
• Preferred- experience with kinases
• Preferred- experience in cryo-EM structural studies
• Preferred- experience in molecular modeling
• Preferred- experience with teams collaborating in discovering and optimizing new chemical matter
• Highly effective verbal and written communication skills
• A drive for scientific curiosity and learning that is applied towards our goal of discovering new medicines

Our values:

Transparency: We work with honesty, openness, and integrity.

Community: We collaborate and thrive together.

Patient-Focused: We are committed to finding new medicines for patients.

Resolve: We never give up on our mission.

When You Join Theseus Pharmaceuticals You Will Have:

• Location reachable by public transportation (Red Line)
• Customized and competitive health coverage, including medical offered through BCBS (HMO/PPO), dental, and vision
• Health Savings Account for medical expenses
• Eligible from the first day for 401K with 100% match of the first 5%
• A robust package of Theseus-paid insurance coverage, including life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
• Unlimited time off and 11 Holidays
• Winter Break: Theseus is closed for a Winter Break between Christmas and New Year

Location: Cambridge (Kendall Square), MA

Candidates should be aware that Theseus Pharmaceuticals requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Newly hired employees must be vaccinated prior to their employment start date. Theseus is an equal opportunity employer and will provide reasonable accommodation to those unable to be vaccinated where it is not an undue hardship to the company to do so as provided under federal, state, and local law.

Theseus Pharmaceuticals is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant because of race, creed, color, age, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, veteran status, military status, application for military service or any other class protected by state or federal law.

TO ALL AGENCIES: Please, no phone calls or emails to any employee of Theseus about our openings. All resumes submitted by search firms/employment agencies to any employee at Theseus via email, the internet or in any form and/or method will be deemed the sole property of Theseus unless such search firms/employment agencies were engaged by Theseus for this position and a valid agreement with Theseus is in place. In the event a candidate who was submitted outside of the Theseus agency engagement process is hired, no fee or payment of any kind will be paid.