Senior Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

Septerna is a biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, CA on a mission to develop life-changing medicines for patients with the vision to become the industry-leading G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-focused drug discovery company. The company’s Native Complex Platform™ recapitulates GPCRs with their native structure, function, and dynamics outside of the cellular context. This approach enables novel access to modern structural and screening technologies used in industrial-scale drug discovery for the entire class of GPCRs. Septerna has an emerging pipeline of GPCR-targeted small molecule programs with potential for growth to target many GPCRs that have been undruggable and unexploited to date.

We are excited to expand our multidisciplinary team of individuals focused on creating revolutionary medicines to address the unmet needs of patients. At Septerna we strive to embrace diversity of thought, expertise, and background through collaboration. To join our ambitious team, be prepared to bring your real self to work every day; grow and learn from a talented team of drug hunters, scientists, and business professionals; and contribute your passion, creativity, and energy to accomplish our mission. We share a fearless pursuit of ground-breaking innovations and cultivate an environment where our employees succeed by learning from each other and working as a team.

We are committed to the development of meaningful therapeutics for patients with indications of high unmet need. This is a tremendous opportunity to work with talented individuals on the frontlines of therapeutic discovery and development. You will directly help move therapies through preclinical research, positioning them for success in the clinic. The successful candidate will add their passion, unique talents, and expertise to a dynamic team motivated to discover new disease-modifying therapeutics for patients in a fast-paced environment.

For more information see: www.septerna.com.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a medicinal chemist to contribute to the chemistry efforts for one or more of our drug discovery programs working as part of a cross-functional team. Design of compounds,  ability to execute synthesis within our internal laboratories, collaboration with CROs, and broad general chemistry department support will be key components of the position. This is an outstanding opportunity to learn from experienced medicinal chemists and drug hunters applying structure based-drug design, modern hit-identification strategies (including virtual screening and DEL), and advanced pharmacology, to GPCR targets to address unmet medical needs. 

QUALIFICATIONS

This position requires a Ph.D. in organic chemistry with at least 3+ years of experience in a biotechnology or pharmaceutical setting. The successful candidate will have expertise in synthetic/medicinal chemistry. He/she will have experience in designing drug-like molecules and experience optimizing compounds towards drug development candidate selection. Experience with structure-based drug design is preferred.

REQUIREMENTS

• In-depth understanding of medicinal chemistry principles. Experience in drug discovery process from hit ID, hit to lead and lead optimization.
• Strong analytical thinking and skills to organize and analyze structure activity relationship (SAR) data sets to drive design ideas.
• Ability to design compounds that impact the directions of the program and solve problems related to potency, physical properties and ADMET. Structure-based drug design experience is highly preferred.
• Contemporary expertise and understanding of all aspects of synthetic organic chemistry ranging from modern synthetic methodologies to multi-step synthetic route design, compound purification and characterization. Ability to design synthetic routes and troubleshoot synthetic issues.
• Outstanding communication skills with demonstrated ability to deliver effective presentations.
• Highly collaborative, team-oriented, and considerate of the needs of the team.
• Leadership potential towards leading chemistry of programs and managing outside CRO chemistry FTEs.

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in South San Francisco, CA is $140,000 - $150,000. Individual pay may vary based on additional factors, including, and without limitation, job-related skills, experience, work location and relevant education or training. Septerna's compensation package also includes benefits, stock options, and annual target bonus for full-time positions.

We are an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status. 

Note to Employment Agencies: Please do not forward any agency resumes. The company will not be responsible for any fees related to resumes that are unsolicited.