[Hiring] Senior Medicinal Chemist, Drug Discovery @SandboxAQ

Role Description

SandboxAQ’s AI Simulation team develops new drugs and materials using a spectrum of AI and physics-based computational solutions. Our AQBioSim group is looking for a senior medicinal chemist to join our Drug Discovery team. This person's responsibility will be to drive innovation by applying organic and medicinal chemistry expertise to drug discovery projects and address unmet medical needs.

• Apply organic and medicinal chemistry strategies to address unmet drug discovery needs.
• Provide strategic input and technical direction using modern synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry principles.
• Translate insights from drug discovery projects and collaborate with AI Sim computational chemistry and development teams to enhance SandboxAQ's technology and Large Quantitative Models (LQMs).
• Drive and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver scientific expertise and strategic direction in drug design problems.
• Work closely with computational chemists, AI/ML experts, and cross-functional teams to prototype and scale impactful drug design solutions.
• Manage chemistry strategic alignment and resource allocation, leading several contract research organizations (CRO) and external chemistry partners.
• Lead and collaborate in the preparation of scientific proposals, patents, reports, and publications supporting new and existing programs.
• Represent SandboxAQ externally with CROs and scientific partners.
• Generate and evaluate hypotheses to assist design decisions and influence project direction.

Qualifications

• PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, or a related discipline.
• At least 3 years of relevant experience in organic and medicinal chemistry applied to drug discovery in the private sector (e.g., biotech or pharma).
• Experience contributing to structure-based and ligand-based drug discovery programs and familiarity with computational methods.
• Outstanding synthetic chemistry background with a demonstrated track record in medicinal chemistry problem-solving.
• Experience leading the chemistry function or sub-teams within drug discovery projects.
• Experience executing drug discovery programs from HitID to Candidate delivery with a consistent track record.
• Experience managing multiple CRO resources and external chemistry partners.
• Interest in solving scientific problems in chemistry and biology via computational and data-driven methods.
• Enthusiastic collaboration with computational chemists and methods developers to advance SandboxAQ’s computational design platform.
• Drive to cooperate with colleagues to identify problems and communicate scientific solutions effectively.
• Hands-on mentality with a track record of contributing to projects and publications.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents with generous employer premium contributions.
• Retirement savings with company matching.
• Paid parental leave and inclusive family-building benefits.
• Flexible paid time off and company-wide seasonal breaks.
• Support for flexible work arrangements that enable sustainable performance.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and growth through on-the-job development and access to internal learning programs.