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The Position

Principal Scientist/Senior Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

We are offering a unique opportunity to influence small molecule drug discovery with your blend of scientific expertise and leadership.

The Medicinal Chemistry Department at China Innovation Center of Roche (CICoR), located in Shanghai, is a community of drug-hunters with expertise in synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and technology. Our responsibility, in collaboration with our therapeutic areas and functions, is to convert biology hypotheses into innovative small molecule drugs for treating diseases of high unmet medical need, in the disease areas of oncology, immunology and cardiovascular and metabolism.

As a Principal Scientist/Senior Principal Scientist, you are accountable for driving small molecule drug discovery projects. Your responsibilities include the defining and addressing hypotheses to advance the project and drive design of novel molecules, culminating in the identification of clinical candidates, through knowledge based and digital insights, by leading a talented chemistry team and collaborating with a creative cross-functional team. You are business-savvy, creative and curious to learn and possess the interpersonal skills and scientific leadership to drive scientific excellence at a project/team level.

In this role:

• You lead a chemistry team to work on small molecule drug discovery projects, utilizing state-of-the-art knowledge to optimize physicochemical properties and develop structure-activity relationships and structure-property relationships for potency, ADME and safety.
• You play a leading role in defining project strategies (e.g. hit generation approach, screening cascade, target compound profile, decision map and patent strategy) within a project team setting and ensure that the project strategy is aligned with the site's overarching disease/technology strategies.
• You drive drug discovery projects and enable critical decision making for project prioritization, progression or discontinuation, spanning hit generation, lead identification, lead optimization and clinical candidate selection.
• You build strong relationships with peers within project teams to support advancement of compounds to identify clinical candidates. You are able to work on projects in a dynamic manner and you act collaboratively and decisively.
• You may be appointed to develop and execute new research areas and technologies.
• You may act as a disease/technology area expert internally to evaluate new drug discovery/technology project proposals. Upon request, may contribute to due diligence activities.
• You will lead a group of talented medicinal chemists and will be responsible for their performance and career development. You will report to the head of medicinal chemistry of CICoR.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for an experienced medicinal chemist, PhD with 8+ years in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry or equivalent experience in academia.

You have:

• Thorough understanding of all aspects and scientific methods used in small molecule drug discovery, accompanied with deep expertise in certain disease and technology areas, e.g. degrader, covalent drug, ADC.
• Strong track records of delivery of milestones from target assessment through clinical candidate selection, and critical project go/no-go decisions, balancing scientific rigor and execution speed.
• Demonstrated learning agility embodying flexible ways of working, building a highly collaborative and interdependent team environment to progress the project forward with urgency.
• Strong problem-solving skills. Wanting to make a difference, you find excitement in developing creative, innovative solutions, and meeting project objectives.
• Excellent communication skills. Admired for your inclusive way of working you can influence at all levels. You are skilled at presenting program strategy, issues, mitigation plans and critical steps to governance committees and senior leadership.
• Ability to connect the project to a portfolio view, willing to take tough decisions and pivot quickly.

If you are proud of contributing and feel you have the dedication to teamwork and innovation that we are seeking, then Roche is the organization for you. Every role at Roche plays a part in making a difference to patients’ lives. If you want to work in a passionate team, make your mark & improve lives, apply now.

Roche embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.