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Executive Director, Chemical Biology

Recursion· Chemistry
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Hybrid (Salt Lake City, UT)$237.6k - $284.9kfull-timePosted 5d ago

About the role

Senior scientific leadership role to develop and lead chemical biology efforts bridging multiomic discovery with target ID, including chemical probe design, and expanding modalities beyond traditional small molecules.

Responsibilities

  • Set chemical biology strategy for Recursion based on our multiomics platform, with a focus on linking our proprietary maps of biology to targets using modern chemical biology methods and work with teams to establish the right drug modalities (e.g. degraders, molecular glues) alongside traditional small molecule work
  • Build, manage, and mentor a team of multiomics chemists, fostering a coaching-driven environment for growth
  • Establish and manage internal and external (CRO) chemistry teams and networks to execute screening, synthesis, and validation campaigns
  • Partner closely with biology, target ID teams, structural biology, and computational drug design to align chemical biology strategy with target validation and platform capabilities
  • Define and align program strategy and go/no-go criteria with senior leadership, factoring in competitive landscape and portfolio priorities
  • Represent the team in portfolio reviews and governance meetings, and lead technical discussions on molecular design with external collaborators and partners
  • Contribute to IP strategy and business development activities related to novel chemical matter and new modalities

Qualifications

  • PhD in chemical biology, chemistry, or related field
  • 10+ years of relevant industry experience and demonstrated people leadership
  • Deep, hands-on track record in chemical probe design — selective inhibitors, proximity approaches such as molecular glue degraders/PROTACs, covalent or activity-based/photoaffinity chemistry
  • Proven ability to deconvolute phenotypic hits to mechanism via chemoproteomics or equivalent target ID methods
  • Track record building and scaling a chemical biology function — hiring, mentoring, and developing multiple scientists/managers
  • Experience setting multi-year technical strategy (e.g. chemical library architecture, probe portfolio direction) rather than executing a single program's plan
  • Comfortable operating with high ambiguity — translating open biological questions into executable chemistry strategy without a pre-defined target
  • Executive-level communication: able to represent chemical biology strategy directly to C-suite/board and influence cross-functional senior leaders
  • Prior experience managing, mentoring, or leading chemists and cross-functional project teams, including internal/external (CRO) team management

Skills

Required:chemical probe designteam leadership and mentoringmultiomics collaboration

Benefits

  • annual bonus
  • equity compensation
  • comprehensive benefits package
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Recursion

Pioneering AI Drug Discovery | Recursion

Decoding biology to radically improve lives.

AIdrug discoverybiotechpharmaRecursion OSdatamodelscompute
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