Principal Research Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry
IDEAYA Biosciences
September 01, 2026
On-site
South San Francisco, CA
Clinical Research and Development
Position Summary
- Discovery medicinal chemist on multidisciplinary teams to deliver oncology drug discovery pipeline goals.
- Onsite in South San Francisco HQ offices, required 5 days/week.
Responsibilities
- Apply modern synthetic techniques to prepare complex chemical targets and deliver high-quality molecules.
- Design reaction sequences that avoid known liabilities and reduce difficult purifications.
- Gather reaction information and troubleshoot problematic transformations.
- Plan ahead and multitask in/out of the lab to maintain productivity.
- Deliver molecules from 10 mg to >25 g.
- Manage external synthetic chemistry resources for high productivity.
- Follow SAR data to propose targets addressing critical series issues.
- Champion design/synthesis into new directions as needed.
- Communicate results and strategy clearly.
- Use structure-based design and computational tools to improve affinity/selectivity.
Requirements
- Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry; 3–8 years pharmaceutical industry medicinal chemistry experience.
- Expertise in synthetic organic chemistry (asymmetric reactions, modern cross-coupling), chemistry literature, purification and spectroscopic characterization.
- Proven high lab productivity and safe synthesis of complex structures.
- Ability to develop practical, scalable chemistry; troubleshoot regularly; keep good scientific records.
- Strong scientific judgment to prioritize lead-series issues and target fixes.
- Excellent communication; work well in diverse teams.
- Strong medicinal chemistry knowledge (structure-based design, SAR/optimization, physicochemical properties, ADME/pharmacology).
- Ability to use computational tools for biological trend understanding and ligand-binding principles.
- Desire to stay current and mentor others.
Total Rewards / Benefits (as stated)
- Medical/dental/vision (100% company paid for employees; 90% for dependents), 401k, ESPP, wellness programs.
- Expected salary range: $177,000–$218,000.
- Discovery medicinal chemist on multidisciplinary teams to deliver oncology drug discovery pipeline goals.
- Onsite in South San Francisco HQ offices, required 5 days/week.
Responsibilities
- Apply modern synthetic techniques to prepare complex chemical targets and deliver high-quality molecules.
- Design reaction sequences that avoid known liabilities and reduce difficult purifications.
- Gather reaction information and troubleshoot problematic transformations.
- Plan ahead and multitask in/out of the lab to maintain productivity.
- Deliver molecules from 10 mg to >25 g.
- Manage external synthetic chemistry resources for high productivity.
- Follow SAR data to propose targets addressing critical series issues.
- Champion design/synthesis into new directions as needed.
- Communicate results and strategy clearly.
- Use structure-based design and computational tools to improve affinity/selectivity.
Requirements
- Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry; 3–8 years pharmaceutical industry medicinal chemistry experience.
- Expertise in synthetic organic chemistry (asymmetric reactions, modern cross-coupling), chemistry literature, purification and spectroscopic characterization.
- Proven high lab productivity and safe synthesis of complex structures.
- Ability to develop practical, scalable chemistry; troubleshoot regularly; keep good scientific records.
- Strong scientific judgment to prioritize lead-series issues and target fixes.
- Excellent communication; work well in diverse teams.
- Strong medicinal chemistry knowledge (structure-based design, SAR/optimization, physicochemical properties, ADME/pharmacology).
- Ability to use computational tools for biological trend understanding and ligand-binding principles.
- Desire to stay current and mentor others.
Total Rewards / Benefits (as stated)
- Medical/dental/vision (100% company paid for employees; 90% for dependents), 401k, ESPP, wellness programs.
- Expected salary range: $177,000–$218,000.