Senior Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

We are seeking talented and highly motivated individuals with a strong background in synthetic organic chemistry to join our medicinal chemistry group in the pursuit of novel small molecules to treat patients with unmet medical needs. The successful candidate will engage in rational structure-based drug discovery enabled by our computational and structural biology group. Specifically, this individual will design and synthesize novel chemical entities optimized for potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo efficacy. As a member of a dynamic multi-disciplinary project team, this person will collaborate with a broad group of scientists within Nurix and with external collaborators. Additionally, they will contribute effectively to patent, report, and scientific publication writing.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry with 6+ years of pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry industrial experience
• Successful application of structure-based drug design leading to advanced leads/ development candidates. Strong working knowledge of protein-ligand interactions, and conformational and structural analysis, experienced in partnering closely with computational chemists through the appropriate use of computational tools, models, and visualization applications
• High level of creativity and productivity with strong synthetic problem-solving skills
• Excellent scientific expertise in organic synthesis, conversant with the current literature
• Ability to champion chemistry efforts in new directions to achieve project milestones
• Solid track record of innovation and impact on programs, with direct contributions to company pipelines (including both successful advances and smart terminations)
• Proven leadership capability in a cross-functional team setting, either as a project team leader or co-lead
• Strong evidence of conceptual thinking and active follow-through, recognized by establishing new projects or new directions within projects, new strategies, and/or enabling technologies for drug discovery
• Vigorous scientific curiosity evidenced by contributions to diverse medicinal chemistry strategies
• Ability to make inventive contributions towards new chemical target structures or templates for programs, and employ sound judgment in the evaluation and strategic decision-making around early screening or literature hits
• Excellent knowledge of medicinal chemistry principles with a solid understanding of the basic biology and pharmacology of programs, the ADME issues, and series SAR. Able to effectively integrate this knowledge and apply the key principles of medicinal chemistry, literature precedent, and drug design to direct medicinal chemistry programs to phase transitions or series go/no-go decisions
• Strong skills in gathering, documenting, and analyzing information from competitive sources such as patents and meetings and using this information to guide program strategy
• Excellent communication skills and ability to present the rationale, key data, issues, and accomplishments of the chemistry efforts to other members of the department

Fit with Nurix Culture and Values

• Strong team orientation; highly collaborative
• Solutions and results-oriented focus
• Hands-on approach; resourceful and open to diverse points of view