Director/Senior Director, Molecular Discovery

Responsibilities

• Own small molecule discovery programs from hit identification through lead optimization and candidate nomination
• Lead discovery output setting, timelines, quality benchmarks, and throughput targets
• Interface between the autonomous science platform and drug discovery decision-making
• Collaborate with AI/ML, robotics, and software engineering teams to close the loop between computational predictions and experimental results
• Architect discovery program components, including assay specification and scientific staff management
• Manage relationships with CROs and external partners for specialized studies
• Provide drug discovery expertise to the product team for commercial partnerships

Requirements

• Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, chemical biology, or related discipline
• 12+ years of experience in small molecule drug discovery
• 5+ years in a senior role advancing compounds from hit-to-lead through candidate selection
• Demonstrated involvement in programs that delivered clinical candidates
• Deep fluency in medicinal chemistry principles (SAR, synthetic tractability, ADMET, PK)
• Strong working knowledge of ADMET, DMPK, and IND-enabling study requirements
• Fluency with AI/ML-driven molecular design approaches
• Effective communication skills for leadership updates

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with automated, high-throughput, or closed-loop discovery environments
• Hands-on experience applying computational chemistry or cheminformatics
• Experience building or scaling a discovery operation from an early stage
• Background across multiple therapeutic areas
• Process-oriented mindset for measuring and standardizing workflows

About the Company

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence™ to solve humankind's greatest challenges. LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory™ instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously.