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Research Leader / Senior Scientist (Medicinal Drug Design), Cambridge, MA

Isomorphic Labs· DDMR
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Cambridge, MAfull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Research Leader and Senior Scientist roles at Isomorphic Labs in Cambridge, MA, focusing on integrating medicinal chemistry with AI-driven drug discovery to drive portfolio programs from initiation to clinical candidate, with potential people management responsibilities for small teams.

Responsibilities

  • Invent new medicines. Rapidly drive drug discovery programs to value inflection points by deploying knowledge of modern discovery principles and synthetic organic chemistry, taking ownership as either an overall Project Lead or Medicinal Chemistry Lead.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally to support the data-driven delivery of high quality scientific solutions to complex technical problems.
  • Represent the company externally, interacting with existing and prospective collaborators and Contract Research Organisations (CROs).
  • Provide strategic input and technical direction to ML platform teams.
  • Effectively manage CRO resources and monitor KPIs to maintain delivery.
  • Generate intellectual property positions and capture the value derived from IsoLabs’ investment.
  • Prepare detailed scientific proposals and reports to support new and ongoing programs.
  • Embrace and champion our culture of inclusion and continuous professional development.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Medicinal Chemistry, Synthetic Organic Chemistry, or a related technical field, or equivalent industrial experience.
  • 8+ / 5+ years of professional experience in a Medicinal Chemistry role, operating within a biotech, pharma or CRO setting.
  • Proven track record of project leadership / leading medicinal chemistry efforts on drug discovery projects, demonstrating significant contributions to project progression (ideally from hit identification through to lead optimisation or candidate nomination), with familiarity of optimisation of ADME properties.
  • For a people management position, experience of leading a high-performing scientific team, mentoring and empowering them to thrive in their roles.
  • Experience of driving a problem through structure-based drug design.
  • Excellent strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities applied to complex drug discovery challenges.
  • Experience of working with and closely managing CRO resources.
  • Strong track record of scientific achievements, evidenced by publications, patents, and presentations.
  • A genuine passion for drug discovery and enthusiasm for the potential of ML to transform the field.
  • Excellent communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills, with an ability to work effectively in a cross-functional, collaborative team environment.
  • Track record of creative problem solving with a strong growth mindset, adaptability, and eagerness to learn new concepts and techniques.

Skills

Required:Medicinal ChemistryStructure-based drug designProject leadership / team leadershipCross-functional collaboration

Benefits

  • Not explicitly enumerated in detail in the description, but includes a culture of inclusion, continuous professional development, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Last updated Aug 19, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Isomorphic Labs

Reimagining Drug Discovery Process with AI

Isomorphic Labs is building a future where frontier AI can help to unlock deeper scientific insights, faster breakthroughs, and life-changing medicines.

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