Senior Medicinal Chemist: Principal Scientist/Research Fellow at Alkermes, Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts

Job Description:

Senior Medicinal Chemist: Principal Scientist/Research Fellow

Job Description: 

As a senior medicinal chemist:

• Design compounds with a clear hypothesis for improved potency, selectivity, functional activity and/or ADME properties.

- Utilize all relevant tools to assist in design e.g. for SBDD

- Seek outside case studies from literature to support hypotheses

• Analyze, interpret, and visualize biological data, and communicate these results back to the medicinal chemistry team

- Ensure utilization of all relevant tool for data analysis

- Determine next steps even with complex or ambiguous data

- Reach beyond immediate knowledge to best interpret results

- Share the output as “live design” inside project and chemistry teams

• Work closely with computational chemistry to implement relevant predictive models to aid in the design of new compounds


• Foster a close collaboration with synthetic chemistry to enhance design through synthesis


• Accountable for utilizing, championing or helping to develop state of the art medicinal chemistry techniques that solve key problems for project and chemistry teams.


• Regularly publish high quality scientific papers


• Help establish new projects and/or new scientific initiatives


• Be a role model in behaviors for Alkermes’ way of working


• Demonstrate situational leadership and creative problem solving


• Act in accordance with all Alkermes’ policies for personnel, EHS, etc.


• As a chemistry lead, assist project leader in the development of strategic, scientific, and technical strategies for a given project


• Be a scientific and strategic resource for local chemistry management as relates to new ways of working in medicinal chemistry


• Initiate and manage external collaborations to enhance internal projects, capabilities and company recognition

For Principal Scientist - Minimum Education & Experience Requirements: A Ph.D. with at least 8+ years’ pharmaceutical experience and an accomplished track record of delivery for drug discovery projects 

For Research Fellow - Minimum Education & Experience Requirements: A Ph.D. with at least 12+ years’ pharmaceutical experience and an accomplished track record of delivery for drug discovery projects

Technical Expertise Requirements: 

• Recognized expert in modern medicinal and synthetic chemistry approaches and principles that contribute to successful delivery of drug discovery projects


• Led programs that delivered compounds into the clinic

- Utilized appropriate leadership skills in working across disciplines

• Lead author on scientifically reviewed publications


• Presented at professional conferences


• Managed chemistry teams internally and externally


• Inventor on published patents

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Strong technical communication (verbal and written) 

Alkermes, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression and identity, national origin, ancestry, age, mental and physical disability, genetic information, any veteran status, military status or application for military service, or membership in any other category protected under applicable law

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Experience Level:
Mid-Senior Level

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