Job Description

Title: Principal Scientist - Medicinal Chemistry

Salary: $145-175,000

Location : Ballwin, MO

A St. Louis, MO-based pharmaceutical research and development company is seeking a highly motivated Medicinal Chemistry Leader with extensive drug discovery experience, strong project management capabilities, and a demonstrated record of leading high-performing teams. The company is focused on developing novel therapeutics to address unmet medical needs and is committed to improving patients’ quality of life through scientific innovation.

This individual will play a critical role in the Drug Discovery Department, driving multidisciplinary efforts to identify and advance innovative clinical candidates.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead a multidisciplinary drug discovery team to ensure scientific excellence and operational effectiveness.
• Design and execute medicinal chemistry strategies that integrate structural, physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and safety considerations to deliver novel and differentiated development candidates.
• Evaluate and refine compound design proposals from the computational chemistry group.
• Direct synthetic chemistry efforts in support of discovery objectives.
• Identify and apply emerging synthetic and purification technologies to improve the efficiency of novel compound synthesis.
• Assess and recommend advanced tools and technologies to enhance drug discovery processes.
• Manage relationships with external CROs to ensure high-quality and timely project execution.
• Collaborate closely with internal leadership and provide structured, timely reporting on project progress.
• Foster effective communication across disciplines including computational chemistry, biology, CMC, safety, and external collaborators.
• Lead preclinical studies and contribute to IND-enabling activities.
• Develop intellectual property strategies and drive patent submissions in partnership with legal counsel.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Organic or Medicinal Chemistry with at least 15 years of industry experience in drug discovery.
• Proven leadership in cross-functional teams with a successful track record of scientific innovation and clinical candidate delivery.
• Deep understanding of medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, DMPK, pharmacology, and process chemistry, with the ability to progress programs from hit identification to IND filing.
• Experience in cyclic peptide design, PROTACs, and molecular glues is strongly preferred.
• Skilled in managing timelines and external resources to achieve high-quality outcomes at critical decision points.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural collaboration skills.
• Creative, problem-solving mindset with experience operating in fast-paced, dynamic environments.
• Proficiency in structure-based drug design and use of computational chemistry tools for lead optimization.
• Strong synthetic chemistry background, demonstrated by high-quality publications and/or patents.
• Proven ability to lead projects through lead optimization to clinical candidate nomination.
• Excellent organizational and motivational skills with the ability to guide and inspire project teams.
• Effective communicator with the ability to present strategies and progress to both internal and external stakeholders; proficiency in both English and Chinese is a plus.

Why Join

This is a unique opportunity to lead and innovate within a collaborative, fast-paced setting. The role offers the chance to shape medicinal chemistry strategy, advance a cutting-edge pipeline, and make a meaningful impact on the future of healthcare innovation.

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