Director, Medicinal Chemistry

SUMMARY/JOB PURPOSE:

The Director, Medicinal Chemistry is a highly skilled and motivated senior level medicinal chemist who manages our small molecule drug discovery team. The ideal person is an exceptional chemistry team leader, overseeing a team of chemists to design and synthesize novel compounds for portfolio projects.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide scientific and transformative leadership to chemistry team members
• Collaborate with biology, DMPK and safety teams to advance quality compounds as potential drug candidates.
• Drive medicinal chemistry projects from target validation to chemical equity identification to lead optimization and drug candidate selection
• Participate and present in project team and departmental research meetings
• Maintain laboratory notebooks in accordance with company policies and practices
• Comply with safe laboratory practices and EH&S guidelines and promote a culture of safety in the laboratory
• Contribute to the writing of technical documents, patent applications, scientific manuscripts and preparation of conference presentations

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Supervises staff, including hiring, scheduling, and assigning work, reviewing performance, and recommends salary increases, promotions, transfers, demotions, or terminations.
• Directly supervises employee(s) through a dotted line structure or via other subordinate supervisors.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

Education/Experience:

• Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) and a minimum of 8 years related experience; or,
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience/The Ideal for Successful Entry into Job:

• Experience managing as a direct supervisor and in matrix teams
• Experience managing projects and/or workgroups in biotechnology organizations including experience with budget procedures
• Proven track record of delivering projects from target identification through optimization to high-quality drug candidates as evidenced by publications and/or patent applications
• Knowledgeable in all aspects of drug discovery including structure-based drug design and understanding of related disciplines
• Strong organic and medicinal chemistry bench skills with detailed knowledge of modern synthetic chemistry techniques, purification methods, and analytical techniques
• Target compound and synthetic pathway design
• Excellent problem solving and SAR analysis skills
• Extensive experience in a medicinal chemistry laboratory conducting research experiments and operating general chemistry equipment.
• General experience working with computers including MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Excel required.

Knowledge/Skills:

• Extensive knowledge of organic and medicinal chemistry techniques, theories and practices. Comprehensive understanding of current approaches in medicinal chemistry and the ability to incorporate them into the drug discovery program.
• Extensive knowledge of intellectual property matters related to drug discovery.
• Sets goals with understanding of priority and impact to program, department and organization.
• Applies advanced scientific and technical principles, theories and concepts. Contributes to the development of new principles and concepts.
• Efficient use of scientific literature and chemical/scientific databases
• Ability to initiate program efforts and work effectively with CRO partners
• Good interpersonal skills, flexibility and works well within a team environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

JOB COMPLEXITY:

• Works in a fast-paced team environment as we continue to grow and evolve requiring regular reprioritization of projects while adhering to timelines and achievement of deliverables.
• As a subject matter expert, has an in-depth knowledge of medicinal chemistry and has a detailed understanding of cross functional disciplines.
• Exercises independent judgment in methods, techniques and evaluation of criteria for obtaining results.

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Location: Alameda, CA

Range for this position: $234,000 - $295,500

The base pay offered will take into account job-related knowledge, skills, experience and internal equity, among other factors.

In addition to the base salary, as part of our Total Rewards program, Exelixis offers comprehensive employee benefits package, including a 401k plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts. Employees are also eligible for a discretionary annual bonus program, or if field sales staff, a sales-based incentive plan. Exelixis also offers employees the opportunity to purchase company stock, and receive long-term incentives, 15 accrued vacation days in their first year, 17 paid holidays including a company-wide winter shutdown in December, and up to 10 sick days throughout the calendar year.

If you have a disability and need an accommodation in relation to the recruiting process, please email us at: ApplicantAccommodations@exelixis.com.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

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