Forward-Deployed Scientist – Computational & Medicinal Chemistry

Apheris

4d • Remote

About The Position

Apheris is seeking a structure-based drug discovery expert to drive the adoption of their Co-Folding Application within leading pharmaceutical R&D teams. The role involves being a power user of Apheris products and working directly with computational and medicinal chemists to test, benchmark, and apply Apheris' models to real drug discovery programs. The goal is to ensure the product is used effectively and productively in their daily work. This position requires close collaboration with pharma users, internal ML scientists, the AI Applications Team, and Product to integrate the Co-Folding Application into existing R&D workflows. This role is for individuals who want to see AI used in drug discovery, not just deployed.

Requirements

• PhD in computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience as a power user in structure-based workflows - co-folding, docking, protein–ligand modeling in real drug discovery programs.
• Familiarity with molecular visualization and cheminformatics tools (e.g., PyMOL, RDKit).
• Credibility with both computational and medicinal chemists, and ability to bridge what each group needs.
• Basic scripting skills to run and explain notebooks and analyses.
• Comfortable working without full specifications - takes ownership, makes progress under ambiguity.
• Communicates clearly across technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a customer-facing role (e.g., CRO, application scientist).
• Familiarity with OpenFold, Boltz, or other structure /affinity prediction tools.
• Experience working within or alongside enterprise IT/data environments typical of large pharma.
• Experience working on time-sensitive or high-stakes projects.

Responsibilities

• Act as a forward-deployed scientist, focused on driving adoption and real, measurable impact.
• Work hands-on with pharma users of the Co-Folding Application, guiding benchmarking, testing, and application to real discovery programs.
• Build relationships with the relevant stakeholders across pharma R&D, from computational and medicinal chemists to program leaders.
• Feed insights from the field back to Product and the AI Applications Team to shape platform improvements.
• Run in-person and remote workshops to train users and share best practices with research teams.
• Develop case studies that demonstrate impact and can be replicated across projects.
• Contribute scientific content such as example datasets, usage guidelines, and evaluation protocols.

Benefits

• Industry-competitive compensation, including early-stage virtual share options.
• Remote-first working – work where you work best, whether from home or a co-working space near you.
• Great suite of benefits, including a wellbeing budget, mental health benefits, a work-from-home budget, a co-working stipend and a learning and development budget.
• Regular team lunches and social events.
• Generous holiday allowance.
• Office Days at our Berlin HQ or a different European location (3x a year).
• A fun, diverse team of mission-driven individuals with a drive to see AI and ML used for good.
• Plenty of room to grow personally and professionally and shape your own role.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree