Staff Scientist II - Medicinal Chemistry

Job description

The discovery chemistry team at Protagonist Therapeutics is seeking a highly motivated Staff Scientist II for a full-time small molecule medicinal chemist position. It is a full-time, hands-on bench scientist position, but the individual will have the opportunity to co-lead discovery projects under supervision. The individual will be responsible for design and synthesis of new molecules, solving challenging problems with critical thinking within our multi-disciplinary drug discovery team. The individual will have the opportunity to manage external chemistry resources and provide technical support to ensure high productivity. The individual will have a good track record and be enthusiastic about drug discovery. The individual independently supports multiple research programs and possesses excellent verbal and written communication skills. This individual will report to the Senior Director of Chemistry.

Key responsibilities:

Propose and synthesize new molecular targets based on structure-activity relationships for compound optimization to advance leads

Design synthetic routes based on up-to-date literature and hands-on past experience, scale up experience is required

Solve challenging synthetic problems using various techniques

Lead and/or assist in writing and revising technical documents including synthetic, analytical protocols and data reports

Analyze, interpret, summarize, communicate results and data to the team through presentations or other formats in a timely manner

Provide synthetic chemistry expertise and support cross-functional activities as needed

Be up to date with scientific literature

Work with external CROs to manage FTEs and outsourcing activities

Organize the lab, maintain instruments, reagents, supplies in daily operations and follow EH&S rules and regulations

Requirements:

PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry with 2-5 yeas of industrial experience in medicinal chemistry

Proficiency in the following aspects: small molecule target design, organic synthesis and purification, scale up, problem solving, troubleshooting

Understanding of the biology related to various drug discovery projects

Proficiency with software such as Microsoft Office, ChemDraw and SciFinder and ability to use computational chemistry software to design molecules

Experience with electronic notebook, Spotfire and other data management and uploading software is a plus

Excellent time management skills, organizational skills, high efficiency in the lab, ability to adjust work priorities per project needs, and detailed record keeping of experiments using electronic lab notebooks in a timely manner

Ability to develop new skillsets and knowledge is highly desirable

Working independently with limited guidance and multi-tasking are crucial for success

Ability to collaborate within the team and cross-function in a dynamic and fast-paced environment

Strong verbal and written communication skills

The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $135,000 and $145,000/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Protagonist Therapeutics is a discovery through late-stage development biopharmaceutical company. The Company\'s proprietary peptide technology platform enables de novo discovery of peptide therapeutics . Two novel peptides derived from Protagonist\'s proprietary discovery platform are at or near commercialization. ICOTYDE™ (icotrokinra) is approved in the U.S. for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 40 kg who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. ICOTYDE is the first and only targeted oral peptide that precisely blocks the Interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) licensed to Janssen Biotech, Inc.,a Johnson & Johnson company. ICOTYDE was jointly discovered by Protagonist and Johnson & Johnson scientists, with Protagonist having primary responsibility for the development of ICOTYDE through Phase 1, and Johnson & Johnson assuming responsibility for further development and commercialization. An NDA for rusfertide, a first-in-class hepcidin mimetic peptide that is being co-developed with Takeda Pharmaceuticals pursuant to a worldwide license and collaboration agreement entered in 2024, is under priority review with the FDA. Protagonist holds an option to co-commercialize rusfertide in the U.S. through a 50/50 profit and loss share structure or can opt-out of this structure. The Company also has a number of preclinical stage drug discovery programs addressing clinically and commercially validated targets including an oral IL-17 peptide antagonist, obesity dual and triple agonists, an oral hepcidin functional mimetic, and the recently announced IL-4 and amylin programs.

More information on Protagonist, its pipeline drug candidates, and clinical studies can be found on the Company\'s website at

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Worksite address

newark, CA, 94560, US

Who can apply

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