COMPANY

Octant is a well-backed team of experienced scientists and entrepreneurs at the frontiers of biology, chemistry, and computation. We are a small molecule therapeutics company scaling drug discovery to navigate the complexity of human diseases using an integrated platform combining synthetic biology, genomics, computation, and high-throughput chemistry.

Octant is an equal opportunity company that deeply values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and welcomes applicants of all backgrounds. We’re committed to growing the company with a diversity of talented individuals and our team is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment for everyone.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Octant is looking for an experienced medicinal chemist who is excited to work at the interfaces of genomics, drug design, and data science. In this role, you will be focused on driving both the strategy and execution of medicinal chemistry efforts on a range of therapeutic programs.  You will be part of a team responsible for leveraging hits from our targeted high-throughput biology and chemistry screening platform and advancing them through to generate pre-clinical candidates.

AS A PART OF OCTANT’S CHEMISTRY TEAM, YOU’LL:

  • Work as a medicinal chemist on drug discovery teams optimizing compounds and contributing to achieving key program milestones
  • Drive programs forward using our platform technology and external resources
  • Work with CRO partners and oversee the synthesis of compounds and DMPK submission and assays
  • Collaborate with and mentor colleagues with diverse technical backgrounds

THIS JOB MIGHT BE GREAT FOR YOU IF YOU:

  • Have demonstrated accomplishments in small molecule drug discovery programs, including items such as: hit finding methods and high throughput screen follow-up; the design of initial libraries for screening and synthesis; ligand and target-structure-guided design and optimization techniques; or optimization of ADME properties leading to successful execution of high-impact in vivo efficacy studies.
  • Have a PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Biology or related discipline with 2+ years of Medicinal Chemistry experience, or MS degree with 6+ years of experience, or BS/BA degree with 8+ years of experience, or equivalent experience.
  • Have a solid understanding of chemical design (structure- and ligand-based design tactics, leveraging predictive models), ADME principles and how to apply these principles to drive drug discovery programs.
  • Have a strong interest in the application of high-throughput chemistry techniques to advance programs from hit validation into late lead optimization.
  • Have experience executing in chemistry teams and expanding team impact through collaborations with external CROs.
  • Thrive in a dynamic, collaborative, team-oriented startup environment and have an interest in mentoring colleagues.

Please share a summary highlighting your strengths so we can better understand your accomplishments, preferably with leading references to important papers or presentations. We'd love to also hear about things you've been proud to build or lead outside of science.

The expected annual base salary for this role is in the range of $145,000 to $165,000, depending on experience level. We offer health benefits (medical, dental, vision), equity, and 401(k) matching.

Octant is located in Emeryville, California and we work onsite.

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