Associate Director, Medicinal Chemistry
MapLight Therapeutics is seeking a highly motivated Associate Director of Medicinal Chemistry to join their drug discovery team. This role involves co-leading or leading preclinical medicinal chemistry programs from hit identification to candidate nomination, focusing on central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The successful candidate will contribute to the company's mission of developing effective therapies for psychiatric symptoms by designing brain-penetrant small molecules.
Key responsibilities include designing and executing medicinal chemistry strategies to meet project and corporate goals, conducting multi-parameter optimization to deliver orally bioavailable candidates, and applying structure-based drug design principles. The role also involves managing chemistry and tiered screening cascades at external contract research organizations (CROs), overseeing synthesis plans, project tracking, and evaluation of results. Additionally, the Associate Director will coordinate with the in-house drug discovery team to support other disciplines and provide regular project updates to leadership.
The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry with over 10 years of pharmaceutical experience, or a BS/MS with over 15 years of experience, successfully leading preclinical drug discovery programs. Essential qualifications include contemporary knowledge of medicinal chemistry concepts, strong working knowledge of computational chemistry, biology, pharmacology, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics. Prior experience in CNS drug discovery is crucial, along with a proven track record of delivering brain-penetrant candidate compounds for brain disorders. Experience managing projects remotely through multiple CRO partners and a clear record of accomplishments, such as patents or publications, are also required.
The position offers a salary range of $180,000 to $205,000 USD, with additional compensation and benefits including an annual bonus opportunity, medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, short-term and long-term disability, 401(K) plan with match, stock options, flexible non-accrual paid time off, and parental leave.
MapLight Therapeutics fosters a collaborative and innovative company culture, providing growth opportunities for employees to make significant impacts in addressing unmet patient needs. The company combines cutting-edge technologies, including optogenetics, in vivo physiology, and spatial transcriptomics, to identify novel drug targets and develop effective therapies for psychiatric symptoms.