Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Apertor Pharmaceuticals Inc. was founded in November 2020 and will bring new immunotherapies to patients by engineering molecular glues using synthetic biology. Our principal offices are in South San Francisco, CA.

Apertor Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Director of Medicinal Chemistry, reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer, to found and lead our medicinal chemistry group. The successful candidate will be well-versed in lead optimization using all the tools of modern medicinal chemistry. We are seeking a leader

Primary Responsibilities

• Found, develop and inspire a medicinal chemistry team.
• Build, understand and act upon structure-activity relationships in structurally complex molecules.
• Direct lead optimization efforts for a variety of desirable physico-chemical properties.
• Partner with expert colleagues in biology, biophysics and computational chemistry to design molecular glues with improved properties.
• Assist with generating patents and peer-reviewed scientific publications, provide updates for the Board and presentations to external stakeholders such as investors and the larger scientific community.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in organic or medicinal chemistry with +5 years of relevant industrial experience.
• Experience prioritizing and directing the activities of a medicinal chemistry team.
• Ability to communicate effectively within and between cross-functional teams.
• Extensive experience in leading teams with diverse levels of experience and qualification.
• Proven track record of managing timelines and resources in a drug discovery environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, and the ability to present complex ideas in drug design and chemistry to a non-expert audience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience working with complex natural products and/or macrocycles as novel therapeutic modalities.