Associate Director, Medicinal Chemistry

1w1 week ago

MapLight Therapeutics

Burlington, US · Full-time · $180,000 – $205,000

About this role

MapLight Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company focusing on drug discovery for central nervous system disorders. It combines cutting-edge technologies including optogenetics, in vivo physiology, and spatial transcriptomics to identify novel drug targets. The company develops effective therapies to address psychiatric symptoms.

The Associate Director, Medicinal Chemistry will co-lead or lead preclinical programs from hit to candidate nomination. This role requires experience in CNS drug discovery and designing efficacious, safe brain-penetrant small molecules. Manage remote CRO teams for outsourced chemical synthesis and coordinate internal activities across time zones.

MapLight maintains in-house laboratories for preclinical research while outsourcing synthesis to external vendors. Join a small medicinal chemistry team to oversee logistics across multiple partners. Work effectively with cross-functional teams using strong interpersonal skills and leadership.

This position offers a chance to have significant impact by advancing MapLight’s pipeline. Mentor others and co-lead patent strategy to protect novel chemical matter. Address unmet patient needs in brain disorders through hands-on contributions.

Requirements

PhD in Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry with 10+ years, or BS/MS with 15+ years, pharmaceutical experience successfully (co)leading preclinical programs
Contemporary knowledge of Medicinal Chemistry concepts with strong working knowledge of computational chemistry, biology, pharmacology, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics
Prior experience in CNS drug discovery including track record of delivering brain-penetrant candidate compounds for brain disorders
Track record of successfully managing projects remotely through multiple CRO partners
Clear record of accomplishments as exemplified through patents

Responsibilities

Co-lead or lead preclinical medicinal chemistry programs from hit to candidate nomination
Design and execute successful medicinal chemistry strategies to meet project and corporate goals
Conduct multi-parameter optimization to deliver orally bioavailable, brain-penetrant candidates
Apply structure-based drug design principles utilizing in-house resources and external partners
Manage chemistry and tiered screening cascade at external CROs including analytical data assessment
Apply hit finding strategies including scaffold-hopping to identify novel chemical equity
Coordinate with in-house drug discovery team for compound distribution across disciplines
Provide regular project updates to Leadership including SAR, ADME, and PK analyses