Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Director, Medicinal Chemistry

IDEAYA Biosciences

South San Francisco, CA

IDEAYA is a precision medicine oncology company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing transformative therapies for cancer. Our work integrates small‑molecule drug discovery, structural biology, and bioinformatics with robust internal capabilities to identify and validate translational biomarkers, develop tailored, first‑in‑class targeted therapies, and advance synthetic lethality and antibody‑drug conjugate (ADC) programs.

We are seeking an experienced medicinal chemist with extensive pharmaceutical industry experience to lead projects targeting challenging, structurally‑enabled, first‑in‑class molecules. The successful candidate will collaborate cross‑functionally, mentor junior chemists, and manage external chemistry partners.

• Serve as project lead on challenging first‑in‑class small‑molecule projects.
• Collaborate closely with research functions and leadership to craft project strategies and deliver on goals.
• Clearly communicate strategy and results across the organization.
• Manage and mentor direct reports and external FTEs to high productivity.
• Contribute to department strategy as part of the leadership team.
• Monitor new developments in the field and identify new technologies to bring to the organization.

• Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry with 10+ years of pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry industrial experience.
• Strong record of delivering portfolio success and driving projects through to high‑quality small‑molecule drug candidates.
• Proven leadership capability in a cross‑functional team setting.
• Expert rational target‑design skills using structure‑based design and computational tools.
• Expert understanding of medicinal chemistry concepts and ADME, physicochemical, biochemical, and pharmacological principles.
• Strong synthetic chemistry skills, able to deliver challenging targets on milligram to multi‑gram scale.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills for complex information across diverse audiences.
• Experience partnering closely with functional areas such as computational chemistry, DMPK, in‑vivo pharmacology, CMC, etc.
• Strong skills in gathering, documenting, and analyzing competitive information from patents and meetings.
• Track record of mentoring junior PhD‑level chemists.

The expected salary range for the Director of Medicinal Chemistry is $218,000–$270,000 per year. Compensation includes merit‑based salary increases, discretionary short‑term incentive plans, and stock option awards. Benefits include medical/dental/vision coverage (100% company paid for employees, 90% for dependents), 401(k), ESPP, and wellness programs.

The Company complies with all laws respecting equal employment opportunities and does not discriminate against applicants with regard to any protected characteristic as defined by federal, state, and local law. This position requires onsite work at the Company’s facilities for training and meetings; work‑from‑home flexibility is available. Employees are required to be fully vaccinated from COVID‑19, with reasonable accommodations for medical or religious reasons.

IDEAYA is an equal opportunity employer. EOE/AA/Vets.