Job Description

Position summary

We are seeking a highly experienced and visionary Senior Director of Computational Chemistry to join our dynamic team. This pivotal role will drive our computational chemistry strategy, leading efforts to explore newly discovered functional sites and advance our drug discovery pipeline. The ideal candidate will have a profound understanding of quantum mechanics, molecular dynamics, and protein-ligand interactions, coupled with a robust track record in structure-based drug design and cheminformatics. As a scientific leader, you will help mentor and develop our talented team of scientists, foster a data-informed culture, and collaborate across all scientific functions to propel our innovative drug discovery initiatives from concept to candidate nomination. 

Key responsibilities:

Scientific Leadership

• Delivering on our pipeline directly and through scientific direction of the group, including areas of technical focus
• Managing, coaching, mentoring and training scientists to develop their skills and maximize team impact against pipeline and capabilities deliverables
• Leading aspects of our capability builds and working groups toward our future-state vision of computational drug discovery at Neomorph

Strategy

• Setting computational chemistry strategies to investigate newly discovered functional sites by developing a strong understanding of target biology and applying various tools of protein modeling
• Develop methodologies to inform and capitalize on small molecule-protein interactions and conformational space
• Drive the design of proprietary chemical libraries to improve screening outcomes and iterate the library based on structure-activity inference
• Employ structure/ligand virtual screening and AI methodologies to accelerate hit ID and hit to lead progression
• Apply deep understanding of predictive methods to help with med chem efforts and support SAR
• Help to develop data-informed culture in collaboration with the Data Sciences team and other Neomorph departments by providing technical expertise and constructive feedback to other computational stakeholders.
• Collaborate with all scientific functions and become an active participant of drug discovery from site ID to candidate nomination
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and scientific advancements in computational chemistry and contribute to the evaluation and implementation of new tools and methodologies

Requirements

• PhD with 15+ years of relevant experience with proven record in drug design / discovery principles.
• In depth knowledge of quantum mechanics, MD and modeling protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions
• Proven track record in structure-based drug design (SBDD), and experienced in small molecule docking, pharmacophore models, virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations and related techniques for protein-ligand interaction calculations.
• Experience with ligand-based modeling, including QSAR methods (modern machine learning techniques is a plus), small molecule conformational analysis and 3D overlays.
• Cheminformatics expertise, such as chemical reaction/library enumeration, 2D/3D similarity, clustering, dimensionality reduction techniques, etc. connected to data mining and data visualizations.
• Experience with protein modeling, such as ab-initio structure prediction and protein-protein docking (rosetta++ or similar protein modeling suite), protein conformational flexibility (e.g. using MD simulations), homology modeling, etc.
• Strong scientific programming skills (e.g. Python, R) and pipelining tools, (e.g. Knime), preferably in Linux environment.
• Proven track record of leading and delivering successful computational chemistry programs that have advanced novel drug candidates into preclinical or clinical development
• Demonstrated leadership and project management capabilities, with a track record of driving innovation and achieving results in a fast-paced research environment
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively interact with cross-functional teams and external partners

What we offer:  

• Industry competitive compensation
• Annual target bonus
• Stock options
• 401K plan
• Career advancement opportunities
• Monthly town halls to share business and scientific updates

Work Hard, Stay Well  

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans for employees and their dependents
• Health and Dependent Care FSA and HSA Plan with monthly Neomorph contribution
• Employee Assistance Program
• 10 holidays + Winter Shutdown + 3 weeks of vacation time with additional accruals after 2nd year of employment, separate sick leave.
• Supplemental pay for Pregnancy Disability Leave
• Paid Parental Leave for employees with a newborn child or a child placed with them for adoption or foster care

Lifestyle

• Casual work environment
• Volunteer days off each year to spend time contributing to causes you care about
• Flexible work schedule
• Access to onsite gym
• Onsite space to store your bicycle (or surfboard)

Have Fun!  

We believe in work/life balance and Fun is at the core of our Core Values. In addition to department and company happy hours, we have regular company-wide and department lunches and social events (ie Padres games, summer picnic, holiday party, bring your kids to work day).

About Us:  

Neomorph is a venture backed biotechnology company solving critical problems in human health through the discovery and development of innovative new medicines against ‘undruggable targets’. Our team is comprised of industry leading experts in protein degradation and molecular glues who have a track record of ground-breaking discoveries in the field. We are committed to leadership in advancing the science and technology of molecular glue drug discovery, while prosecuting a pipeline of projects through clinical development. Our patient-first, science-driven approach is complemented by our dedication to a supportive and collaborative work environment. 

Neomorph is headquartered in San Diego, California, and has a key collaboration with the Center for Protein Degradation at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 

Neomorph is committed to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Notice to agencies: Neomorph will not accept unsolicited assistance from recruiting/search agencies for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by recruiting or search agencies to any employee at Neomorph via email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search/recruitment agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Neomorph. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Neomorph as a result of the referral or through other means.

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