Job Description:

Job Description Summary:

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated individual with a strong background in organic chemistry to join our medicinal chemistry group in Mountain View, CA. The Senior Director, Medicinal Chemistry will directly report to the VP of Research and will be responsible for driving medicinal chemistry efforts in a fast-paced small molecule discovery research team through Hit ID, Lead Generation, Lead Optimization, and Development Candidate Selection. The successful candidate will lead a group of medicinal chemists and engage in rational design of new agents for the potential treatment of a range of indications. The individual will apply modern techniques in organic chemistry and utilize current medicinal chemistry practices to solve problems relevant to the assigned projects in the Mountain View Discovery Research site. You will also collaborate with a broad group of scientists within the PTC Small Molecule Drug Discovery group to advance projects from inception to clinical proof of concept.
The Senior Director, Chemistry, provides strategic, scientific, and technical leadership to the research team at PTC.  She/He understands the challenges of discovering new medicines and has a demonstrated track record of advancing clinical candidates.  The incumbent is deeply curious about novel biology and willing to think creatively to develop suitable novel chemistry.  She/He is committed to mentorship of direct reports to enable them to do their best work. 

The candidate will join a multidisciplinary team responsible for communicating and executing the vision for the medicinal chemistry group.  continued development of a high-quality compound pipeline.

This position will adhere to relevant regulatory requirements and company Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as appropriate. 

Job Description:

Primary duties/responsibilities:

• Supervise internal medicinal chemists and lab-based synthetic chemists




• Lead multidisciplinary drug discovery project teams in a fast-paced, results-driven environment




• Design, implement and execute medicinal chemistry strategies




• Contribute to, and drive, drug discovery programs as a senior level medicinal chemist working on a multidisciplinary project team including participation in design of target molecules




• Establish partnering strategies to leverage external knowledge and capabilities




• Plan and execute on resource allocation to achieve project goals




• Provide strategic and scientific leadership to overseas CROs to expeditiously deliver high quality and results-focused test compounds for biological evaluation




• Collaborate effectively with the leadership team and other departments and functions




• Demonstrate compliance with corporate, departmental, and job-specific requirements

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES REQUIRED

* Minimum level of education and years of relevant work experience.

• Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry with 12+ years industry experience as a medicinal chemistry leader in a pharmaceutical or biotech company, preferably in both

* Special knowledge or skills needed and/or licenses or certificates required.

• Strong proficiency in fundamental aspects of drug discovery and demonstrated ability to advance drug discovery programs




• Demonstrated experience as a drug hunter who has taken projects from biological targets to delivery of development compounds




• Track record of innovation and impact on programs documented through co-inventorship on issued patents and authorship of publications in peer-reviewed journals (may include both successful advances and smart terminations)




• High level of creativity and productivity with strong problem-solving skills, synthetic methods, and reaction mechanisms




• Ability to champion chemistry efforts into new directions to achieve project milestones




• Strong skills in gathering, documenting, and analyzing information from competitive sources such as patents and meetings and using this information to guide program strategy




• Proven leadership capability in cross-functional teams, either as project team leader or co-lead




• Proven track record of supervising PhD level chemists to high levels of productivity, whilst improving the skills and knowledge of direct reports through mentorship and focused development activities




• Excellent communication skills and able to present the rationale, key data, issues and accomplishments of the chemistry efforts to other members of the R&D organization

* Travel requirements

• This position is based in Mountain View, CA and requires occasional travel to PTC headquarters in New Jersey.

*Physical requirements (only note if the job requires physical capacity beyond general office work)

Office based position

EEO Statement:

PTC Therapeutics is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, age, physical characteristics, social origin, disability, religion, family status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, veteran status or any unlawful criterion under applicable law. We are committed to treating all applicants fairly and avoiding discrimination.

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