What are the responsibilities and job description for the Associate Director/Director, Platform & Hit-ID Chemistry Lead position at Septerna?
THE ROLE
We are seeking a highly motivated and creative Chemist to support our proprietary GPCR Native Complex Platform™ Team and to lead the Hit-Identification (Hit-ID) chemistry effort across our small molecule drug discovery programs. This role requires a focus on logistics and vendor management in addition to strategic innovation to deliver clear impact across our portfolio of Research programs. Reporting into Drug Discovery, this individual will work collaboratively with the Head of Platform and the Platform team at the interface of Discovery Biology, Computational Chemistry, Data Science and Medicinal Chemistry. The successful candidate will be responsible for chemistry strategy and delivery of tool compounds to support continued development of the Native Complex Platform™. The Platform Team enables Hit-ID techniques for screening GPCR targets including DNA-Encoded Library (DEL) screening, small molecule cellular & biochemical High-Throughput Screening (HTS), and advanced approaches to solve ligand-bound GPCR structures for ultra-large library Virtual Screening (VS). This position will assume a leadership role with strategic oversight of both DEL and HTS compound libraries (including vendor decisions, library content, library construction) and will work closely with Computational Chemistry and Data Science to optimize analysis strategies for hit-picking and prioritization. An ideal candidate will contribute towards incorporation of machine learning models to analyze combined data sets from multiple screening approaches. Finally, a key role working closely with therapeutic project teams is to improve methods and strategies for rapid compound synthesis (e.g. optimized workflows and vendors for off-DNA / HTS / VS hit synthesis) and parallelized hit-expansion (e.g. focused DEL or chemical library design and synthetic execution).
Qualifications
- Ph.D. in chemistry, or related field with 8-10 years of experience in the area of small molecule Hit-ID / early Leads, as applied to medicinal chemistry enabled programs.
- Demonstrated leadership qualities for cross-functional collaboration and future growth of the function.
- An innovator, with a track record of innovation in some type of chemistry technology – experience on DEL chemistry projects and/or building large libraries with parallel synthesis.
Requirements
- Significant experience and understanding of Hit-ID techniques including DNA-Encoded Library (DEL) screening, small molecule library cellular & biochemical High-Throughput Screening (HTS), and ultra-large library Virtual Screening (VS).
- Expertise in data analysis approaches for hit-picking, and prioritization of chemical hits including consideration of appropriate physical properties for future optimization and developability. Insights into potential machine learning approaches to augment data analysis is a bonus.
- Ability to execute on efficient follow-up chemistry with timely sourcing and/or synthesis of hit compounds and hit-expansion libraries.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate closely with Platform Scientists, Computational Chemists, Data Scientists and Medicinal Chemists.
- Outstanding communication skills with demonstrated ability to present in a broad range of settings, and strong collaboration, leadership, and organizational skills.
- The successful candidate will be motivated to contribute to the discovery of new disease-modifying therapeutics for patients and enjoy working in a fast-paced dynamic team environment.
The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in South San Francisco, CA is $180,000 - $230,000. 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.
Salary : $180,000 - $230,000
