Member of Technical Staff - Computational Chemistry

Job description

Inductive Bio is an AI drug discovery partner. We help small molecule teams make better decisions, faster, across the full DMTA cycle. Our platform includes best-in-class ADMET models, human dose projection tools, an agentic AI drug discovery assistant, and high-throughput synthesis and testing services. Together, these power dozens of small molecule and beyond-rule-of-five programs for biotech and pharma partners. Inductive’s Beacon-1 placed 1st in the three most recent consecutive OpenADMET blind challenges. We've raised $30M from top VCs, and were selected for a $21M ARPA-H CATALYST contract in collaboration with Amgen. The Role: We're looking for a seasoned computational chemist to join our team as a Member of Technical Staff, Computational Chemistry. Each partner program is led by an Inductive pair: a computational chemist and a medicinal chemist. You'll own the modeling and co-own scientific delivery and impact, applying your expertise to real molecular optimization problems with a human dose-centric framework. You'll work across a wide range of small molecule modalities, therapeutic areas, and modeling challenges. You'll also shape the development of Inductive's platform, from our predictive models and dose projection tools to Indy, informed by your own experience and what you see working (and not working) on real partner programs. We need someone whose instincts about what matters in small molecule optimization come from years of doing it, and who wants to put those instincts into the products we build. This is a remote-friendly role, but we give bonus points to candidates located in Boston, New York, or San Francisco where we have physical offices. While we are flexible on the time zone for primary working hours, this role requires availability for external meetings that frequently occur during Eastern Time business hours. What You'll Do: Your time divides between partner-facing science and methods/product development. The split is flexible based on your interests and company needs; partner-facing science could be anywhere from 30% to 90% of your time. Partner-facing science - Co-own, together with an Inductive medicinal chemist, the scientific relationship with partner project teams. Our programs span reversible and covalent small molecules, macrocycles, molecular glues, and heterobifunctionals; you'll go deep where you have experience and stretch into the rest. - Drive modeling strategy: which assays are most critical to model, how to model them, and how to use these predictions to make decisions that move the program forward. - Bring order to messy program data. Rationalize SAR, identify what the data is and isn't telling you, and flag inconsistencies before they become bad decisions. - Guide med chem strategy: what to make, what to test, how to triage compounds for advancement, and where to focus synthetic resources. Identify liabilities early and help partners build de-risking plans. - Model in vivo outcomes end to end, from PK/PD/efficacy relationships to projected human dose, helping teams evaluate compounds through a dose-centric lens and reason about property tradeoffs in the context of therapeutic window. - Represent Inductive's scientific capabilities in partner meetings and publications. Methods and Product Development - Prototype scientific analyses and modeling experiments in code. We use coding agents heavily within the Computational Chemistry team, so you can move from hypothesis to result quickly. - Build reusable analyses, tools, and workflows for internal use, for partner delivery, and for Indy. If you find yourself doing something twice, automate it. - Evaluate new computational methods on benchmark datasets and make pragmatic calls about what's worth adopting. - Dig into model performance issues. When predictions miss, understand why and work with the ML team to turn those findings into model improvements. - Stay current with the scientific literature and look for emerging techniques worth testing on real data. - Set scientific direction for the platform. You won't just provide feedback on what others build; you'll define what needs to exist and why, grounded in your past experience and what you see on partner programs. - Sit in product design meetings and own the user perspective. You use our tools every day; that makes you the most credible voice in the room for what's working and what isn't. - Write feature requirements, prioritize the roadmap alongside product and engineering, and hold the bar on whether what ships actually solves the problem. - Help grow the Computational Chemistry team as Inductive scales. Who You Are: - A pragmatic drug discovery scientist with 5+ years on project teams across multiple stages of discovery, from hit identification through lead optimization. You've developed strong opinions about what works and what doesn't, and partners trust your judgment at the technical, scientific, and strategic level. - Broad technical range across cheminformatics, structure/physics-based modeling (docking/QM/FEP), ML, and DMPK. Deep scientific training in a relevant field is expected; the specific degree matters less than what you've done with it. - Comfortable writing Python and picking up new tools. We use coding agents daily and prototype fast; strong coders with experience with AI coding agents will thrive here. - Clear communicator who can lead cross-functional discussions and turn complex analyses into visuals that land with both technical and non-technical audiences. - Bonus points if you've seen a program through to DC nomination or IND-enabling studies, or bring hands-on medicinal chemistry experience. Working at Inductive: We offer competitive salary and equity-based compensation; comprehensive healthcare benefits (including dental and vision); and the opportunity to grow along with a rapidly scaling company. Working at a fast-growing startup is not always a 9–5 job, but we believe that our employees should have full lives beyond their career.