This drug discovery careers board lists job opportunities in drug discovery, including for project team leadership, R&D, and management roles in medicinal chemistry, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, pharmaceutics, and drug development. You can also read more about how to get a job and how to build a career in drug discovery below.
US West | US East | Europe and UK | How to Get a Job in Drug Discovery
Use this form to list a drug discovery career opportunity or related job posting on this page, on the home page, or in our e-mail newsletter.
Eligible Drug Hunter newsletter subscribers can share relevant drug discovery career opportunities free of charge. Premium Members and contributors including reviewers can also share relevant opportunities in the e-mail newsletter free of charge, subject to availability.
US West Coast (e.g. Biotech Startup Jobs in San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle)
Title | Area | Company | City | State or Country | Years Post-PhD | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Research Analyst, Medicinal Chemistry – Drug Hunter | https://www.indeed.com/job/research-analyst-medicinal-chemistry-drug-hunter-5fbe3562ea6b27be | Medicinal Chemistry | Drug Hunter | Remote | US | N/A | |
Director, Sales – Subscriptions: Drug Hunter | https://www.indeed.com/job/director-sales-subscriptions-drug-hunter-2b4b25c06015703d | Sales | Drug Hunter | Remote | US | N/A | |
Senior Vice President | https://jobs.lever.co/dayonebio/7ff8cdc2-de18-46b7-98b6-06686603cd53?lever-source=DrugHunter | External Discovery and Research | Day One Biopharmaceuticals | Remote | Remote | 15 | 11/03/22 |
Director / Senior Director | https://app.trinethire.com/companies/33691-kinnate-biopharma-inc/jobs/59782-director-senior-director-medicinal-chemistry | Medicinal Chemistry | Kinnate | San Francisco, | CA | 7 | 04/15/22 |
Business Development Manager | https://bit.ly/3GQadcn | optibrium | North America | 06/02/22 | |||
Director | https://boards.greenhouse.io/schrdinger/jobs/5337569003?s=LinkedIn&source=DrugHunter | Medicinal Chemistry | Schrödinger | San Diego | CA | 12 | 12/11/22 |
Head of Chemistry | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=4500d3cba524a8e4&hl=en | NANOSYN | Santa Clara | CA | 02/01/23 | ||
Scientist | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=ce337e2ef8afc718&hl=en | Organic Chemistry | Kodiak Sciences Inc. | Palo Alto | CA | 02/01/23 | |
Vice President | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=0b6607bcd7e93594&hl=en | Discovery Chemistry | Seagen | Bothell | WA | 15 | 02/01/23 |
Senior Scientific Lead | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=2b5aa15f10fcc099&hl=en | Medicinal Chemistry | Loxo Oncology | Louisville | CO | 2 | 02/02/23 |
Director | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=67d28b26d0026ce2&hl=en | Medicinal Chemistry Protomer | Lilly | Pasadena | CA | 5 | 02/16/23 |
Senior Scientific Lead | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=2b5aa15f10fcc099&hl=en | Medicinal Chemistry | Loxo Oncology | Louisville | CO | 2 | 02/15/23 |
Sr Scientist/Principal Scientist | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=41b6d108a899d905&hl=en | Medicinal Chemistry | Hexagon Bio | Menlo Park | CA | 02/15/23 | |
Director | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=5792caf8bf45cc9f&hl=en | Medicinal Chemistry | Revolution Medicines | Redwood City | CA | 02/15/23 | |
Principal Scientist | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=528bebc68b7ed183&hl=en | Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics | Gilead Sciences | Foster City | CA | 03/01/23 | |
Principal Scientist | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=f7703a7e3381d06a&hl=en | Computational Oncology | Rezo Therapeutics | San Francisco | CA | 7 | 03/01/23 |
Senior Director | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=a9ea7652c0e44096&hl=en | Biomarker Discovery and Development | Alector | South San Francisco | CA | 12 | 03/01/23 |
VP | https://exelixis.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/Exel/job/Alameda-CA/VP--Translational-Medicine_JR4915-1?source=DrugHunter | Translational Medicine | Exelixis | Alameda | CA | 15 | 04/03/23 |
Director | https://www.revmed.com/careers-list?gh_jid=5552891003 | DMPK - Non Clinical Development and Clinical Pharmacology | Revolution Medicines | Redwood City | CA | 6 | 04/03/23 |
Associate Director, Business Development in Biotech and Pharma Industry Memberships: Drug Hunter | https://drughunters.com/ADBD-DH | Drug Discovery | Drug Hunter | Remote | USA | 5+ | |
Senior Director | https://exelixis.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/Exel/job/Alameda-CA/Sr-Dir--Computational-Chemistry_JR4875-1?source=DrugHunter | Computational Chemistry | Exelixis | Alameda | CA | 12 | 04/29/23 |
Senior Principal Scientist | https://deep-apple-therapeutics.breezy.hr/p/75728a372b0f-senior-principal-scientist-medicinal-chemistry | Medicinal Chemistry | Deep Apple Therapeutics | San Francisco Bay Area | CA | 4 | 04/29/23 |
AD/Senior Principal Scientist | https://www.novartis.com/careers/career-search/job-details/371104br/adsenior-principal-scientist-cadd | CADD | Novartis | Emeryville | CA | 5 | 04/29/23 |
Scientist | https://jnjc.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=2306119411W&lang=en | DNA-Encoded Library - Discovery Chemistry | Johnson & Johnson | San Diego | CA | 5 | 05/11/23 |
AD/Senior Principal Scientist | https://www.novartis.com/careers/career-search/job-details/371104br/adsenior-principal-scientist-cadd | CADD | Novartis | Emeryville | CA | 7 | 05/12/2023 |
Research Scientist | https://www.novartis.com/careers/career-search/job-details/373381br/research-scientist-cell-pharmacology-cvm | Cell Pharmacology CVM | Novartis | Emeryville | CA | 3 | |
Senior Staff Scientist/Associate Director | https://jobs.lever.co/Septerna/be10dda5-d6f4-4ca9-b1aa-0ff4b19f4388 | Medicinal Chemistry | Septerna | SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO | CA | 05/20/23 | |
Sr. Scientist/Principal Scientist | https://apply.workable.com/frontier-medicines/j/B01CAA9EAF/ | Medicinal Chemistry | Frontier | South San Francisco | CA | 10 | 05/23/23 |
Sr Scientist I | https://careers.abbvie.com/en/job/south-san-francisco/sr-scientist-i-medicinal-chemistry/14/49646052896 | Medicinal Chemistry | AbbVie | California | South San Francisco | 8 | 06/03/23 |
Senior Scientist | https://jobs.jobvite.com/eikontx/job/ofgpnfw1?__jvst=Job%20Board&__jvsd=DrugHunter | Medicinal Chemistry | Eikon Therapeutics | Hayward | CA | 5 | 06/07/23 |
US East Coast (e.g. Pharma and Biotech Careers in New York, Boston, and North Carolina)
Title | Area | Company | City | State or Country | Years Post-PhD | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Medicinal Chemist | https://www.function-therapeutics.com/jobs/medicinal-chemist | Medicinal Chemistry | Function Therapeutics | Milwaukee | WI | 05/11/22 | |
Director | https://rometx.com/current-opportunities/director-chemistry/ | Chemistry | ROME Therapeutics | Cambridge | MA | 10 | |
Senior Principal Scientist/Director | https://boards.greenhouse.io/schrdinger/jobs/4107468003 | Medicinal Chemistry | Schrodinger | New York | NY | 8 | |
Senior Director | https://jobs.jobvite.com/careers/eikontx/job/otqwlfwu?__jvst=Employee&__jvsd=s1Pdbjw2&__jvsc=LinkedIn&bid=nNjJn3wK | Medicinal Chemistry | Eikon Therapeutics | New York | NY | 15 | 12/11/22 |
Director | https://boards.greenhouse.io/schrdinger/jobs/5337569003?s=LinkedIn&source=DrugHunter | Medicinal Chemistry | Schrödinger | New York | NY | CA | 12/11/22 |
Research Fellow | https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/Biogen/743999869422961-research-fellow-medicinal-chemistry-chemical-biology | Medicinal Chemistry - Chemical Biology | Biogen | Cambridge | MA | 12/14/22 | |
Sr. Scientist/Principal Scientist | https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3426708419/?refId=6QCYXjQZTrKYbLG8KM50ug%3D%3D&trackingId=6QCYXjQZTrKYbLG8KM50ug%3D%3D | Medicinal Chemistry | Frontier Medicines | Boston | MA | 5 | 01/10/23 |
Project Leader | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=db8278fa6aff05df&hl=en | Cancer Drug Discovery | Scorpion Therapeutics | Boston | MA | 10 | 02/01/23 |
Head of Chemistry | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=3f05923914bea100&hl=en | Flagship Pioneering, Inc. | Cambridge | MA | 10 | 02/02/23 | |
Principal Scientist/Associate Director | https://jobs.lever.co/atavistik-bio/55302de7-826f-448b-9c60-e6df5d05cec0?lever-source=LinkedInJobs | Molecular Modeling | Atavistik Bio | Cambridge | MA | 02/02/23 | |
Medicinal Chemist | https://jobs.lever.co/postera/7449b742-fdc4-41da-b812-35b44cf3e3e5?lever-source=DrugHunter | PostEra | Boston | MA | 5 | 02/15/23 | |
Executive Director, Global Program Team Lead | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=a9183dde3558014e&hl=en | Alexion Pharmaceuticals,Inc. | Boston | MA | 03/01/23 | ||
Principal Research Scientist II | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=7221064b0c7bc7eb&hl=en | CMC Strategy & Portfolio Leadership Scientific Affairs | ABBVIE | North Chicago | IL | 8 | 03/01/23 |
Director and Head of Medicinal Chemistry | https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=84b521e6811e414e&hl=en | Fulcrum Therapeutics | Cambridge | MA | 03/01/23 | ||
Senior Scientist / Scientist | https://boards.greenhouse.io/odysseytherapeutics/jobs/4847045004 | Biochemistry Assay Development | Odyssey Therapeutics | Boston | MA | 5 | 04/12/23 |
Research Associate | https://haldatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Research-Associate-Job-Description-In-Vivo-003.pdf | in vivo group | Halda Therapeutics | New Haven | CT | 1 | 04/12/23 |
Principal Scientist | https://vrtx.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/Vertex_Careers/job/Boston-MA/Research-Competitive-Intelligence-Principal-Scientist_REQ-18454?source=DrugHunter | Medicinal Chemistry Competitive Intelligence | Vertex | Boston | MA | 4 | 04/21/23 |
Associate Director | https://jobs.lever.co/atavistik-bio/55302de7-826f-448b-9c60-e6df5d05cec0?lever-source=DrugHunter | Computational Scientist | Atavistik Bio | Cambridge | MA | 5 | 05/11/23 |
Principal Scientist | https://jobs.jnj.com/en/jobs/2306119038w/principal-scientist-peptide-chemistry-global-discovery-chemistry/ | Peptide Chemistry – Global Discovery Chemistry | Johnson and Johnson's | Spring House | PA | 10 | 05/20/23 |
Senior Scientist - | https://careers.bms.com/jobs/R1569531?lang=en-us&previousLocale=en-US | Protein Science | Bristol Myers Squibb | Princeton | NJ | 2 | 05/20/23 |
Sr. Scientist/Principal Scientist | https://apply.workable.com/frontier-medicines/j/330AA329F9/ | Medicinal Chemistry | Frontier | Boston | MA | 10 | 05/23/23 |
Sr Scientist I | https://careers.abbvie.com/en/job/lake-county/sr-scientist-i-medicinal-chemistry/14/48101673264?utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_medium=social_post&utm_campaign=ABBVIE_social | Medicinal Chemistry | AbbVie | Lake County | IL | 05/26/23 | |
Associate Director/Director | https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3612447874/?refId=QxXGQJjpSj%2B4qxWrxuLtuQ%3D%3D&trackingId=QxXGQJjpSj%2B4qxWrxuLtuQ%3D%3D | DMPK | Bicycle Therapeutics | Cambridge | MA | 05/31/23 | |
Senior Research Scientist | https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=f12278fc-fdbe-4894-b687-366f928fdfcc&ccId=19000101_000001&jobId=462759&lang=en_US&source=LI | Process Chemistry | C4 Therapeutics | Watertown | MA | 5 | 05/31/23 |
Senior Scientist | https://pfizer.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PfizerCareers/job/United-States---Connecticut---Groton/Senior-Scientist_4885913 | https://pfizer.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PfizerCareers/job/United-States---Connecticut---Groton/Senior-Scientist_4885913 | Groton | CT | 8 | 06/03/23 |
International (e.g. Opportunities in European Pharma Companies and the UK)
Title | Area | Company | City | State or Country | Years Post-PhD | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Principal Scientist | https://charmtx.com/careers/principal-scientist-computational-chemist/?gh_jid=4104615101 | Computational Chemistry | CHARM Therapeutics | Cambridge | UK | 8 | 12/11/22 |
Project Team Leader | https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3543753927/?refId=3OkAIicjTziYX%2Ft2iqzZnA%3D%3D&trackingId=3OkAIicjTziYX%2Ft2iqzZnA%3D%3D | Immunology Early Development | Roche | Basel | CH | 10 | 04/29/23 |
Senior Synthetic Chemist | https://careers.astrazeneca.com/job/gothenburg/senior-synthetic-chemist-medicinal-chemistry-of-drug-conjugates/7684/48895296976 | Medicinal Chemistry | AstraZeneca | Gothenburg | SE | 05/23/23 |
List an Open Position
Use this form to list a drug discovery career opportunity or related job posting on this page, on the home page, or in our e-mail newsletter.
Eligible Drug Hunter newsletter subscribers can share relevant drug discovery career opportunities free of charge. Premium Members and contributors including reviewers can also share relevant opportunities in the e-mail newsletter free of charge, subject to availability.
How to Get a Job in Drug Discovery
How do you become a drug hunter? After working in the industry ourselves and talking to thousands and thousands of biotech and pharma R&D leaders, here are the three most important characteristics of a great drug discovery hire:
- Be somebody others want to work with
- Demonstrates extraordinary expertise in at least one area
- Demonstrates sincere interest in the role
Be somebody others want to work with
Drugs are discovered by a community of researchers, not individuals. It takes a village to make a drug! Whether you work at a small biotech, a large drug company, an investment firm, or even academia, you’ll need to work with other individuals to make great things happen. While individuals are often celebrated as heroes in the media, everybody in the industry knows that every great drug is the result of teamwork, teamwork, teamwork.
It’s impossible for anybody to know everything about anything nowadays. In order to succeed in an area as technically complex as drug discovery, you need a team of people who are all experts and who work well together. If you want to become a drug hunter, you have to be somebody that others want on their team. That means being somebody who offers to help others, being somebody who is honest and candid, being somebody who is positive and passionate about their work, and just being somebody who’s pleasant to be around!
Demonstrate extraordinary expertise in at least one area
Drug discovery is incredibly technically complex, so each person on a drug discovery team has to carry their weight in at least one area of expertise. Nobody can know everything about anything, but you should prove that you can become an expert in at least one thing. Olympic athletes often find success later in their careers because they’ve learned how to get really really good at something. If you demonstrate that you can be a world leader in any super niche topic, whether it’s how to make single enantiomers of molecules, or how to run one particular biological assay that nobody else understands, that’s a great start!
Obviously, the more relevant your field of expertise is to pharmaceutical drug development, the better! Organic synthesis, biochemistry, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacology have all traditionally been important fields to the industry, though the industry is becoming more flexible in what kinds of backgrounds are sought out initially.
Demonstrate sincere interest in the role
The easiest way to flunk an interview is to look bored. People want to work with people who want to be on their team! When applying for a role, it’s great to already have in mind what you want out of it and why you’re applying. Nobody likes to hear that you “just need a job.” Your future team members want to know why you think they’re special, and why when you join their team you’re going to be an equally happy camper. If you love what you do and you can’t wait to join a company, it will radiate!
Study the companies that you’re applying to, be selective with the teams you interview with, and really focus on areas that you think you’ll really shine in. It’ll set the tone from the moment you walk into the door and everybody will be able to tell.
Building a Career in Drug Discovery R&D
Many of the same principles that apply in finding a job to begin with also apply and building and growing a satisfying career in drug discovery research and development. Initially, growing your career is about growing technical expertise and building relationships. You’ll need to develop your knowledge not just of your specialized area, but also of adjacent areas, such as pharmacology, pharmaceutics, and clinical development, to understand how to best serve your teammates.
Building relationships cannot be understated. In order to affectively serve your team and to serve patients, you’ll need to be able to draw on the strengths and talents of people who aren’t directly on your team. You’ll need to be the type of person who can reach out to clinical key opinion leaders to figure out what drugs you should be working on, who can push and pull on other departments internally to advance projects, and who can find external partners like CROs, CMOs, and suppliers who can support your company’s work.
An easy way to start growing your knowledge just by exploring our sites resources! You can find conferences and events to learn from and network with other professionals here as well, and grow your knowledge a little every day by reading our science-based newsletter.
We wish you the best of luck on your drug discovery journey, and hope to meet you in person someday!
Drug Discovery Resources
- Drug Discovery Resources
- Drug Discovery Posters and Cheat Sheets
- Drug Discovery IPOs and Industry Reviews
- Lists of Approved Drugs
- Classics in Drug Discovery
- Drug Discovery Books
- Drug Discovery Conferences
- What is a Drug Hunter?
- Topliss Tree and Topliss Scheme Posters
- PK Reference Table / Cheat Sheet
- Pd-Couplings Table / Cheat Sheet