Remote | Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Discovery Scientist — $50–$80/hour

24-Mag•New York, NY

3d•Remote

About The Position

We are sharing a specialised part-time consulting opportunity for experienced drug discovery scientists with deep expertise in medicinal chemistry, mechanistic enzymology, structure-guided molecular design, fragment-based discovery, or related pharmaceutical R&D disciplines. This role focuses on designing realistic, scientifically rigorous research problems built around complex and incomplete evidence. Selected experts will create research challenges, assemble source-grounded scientific data, establish objective grading criteria, and validate tasks so that successful solutions require genuine scientific reasoning rather than straightforward information retrieval.

Requirements

PhD or equivalent industry track record in medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology, structural biology, pharmaceutical sciences, or a closely related discipline
Deep working expertise in at least one of the following: Mechanistic enzymology, Structure-guided peptide or antibody design, Fragment-based drug discovery, Structure-based medicinal chemistry
Strong experience interpreting complex experimental evidence within drug discovery research
Ability to construct scientific problems whose conclusions can be rigorously defended
Strong judgement when evaluating the quality of scientific reasoning rather than only final answers
Comfortable working with complex, incomplete, and potentially conflicting scientific information
Strong research, analytical, and technical writing skills
Able to work independently and take ownership of scientific task quality
Comfortable using browser-based research and development tools

Responsibilities

Develop realistic and technically challenging research problems within drug discovery and development
Design tasks that require integration of incomplete, indirect, or potentially misleading scientific evidence
Establish a defensible scientific conclusion supported by the available evidence
Ensure problems require genuine mechanistic and analytical reasoning
Design challenges that cannot be solved through simple pattern matching or factual lookup
Assemble structured data rooms using real, source-grounded scientific information
Ensure decisive values, observations, and experimental evidence can be traced to credible sources
Select evidence that supports rigorous analysis while preserving appropriate scientific ambiguity
Construct evidence chains that lead to a defensible conclusion
Maintain scientific consistency across all task materials
Develop problems involving structure-based medicinal chemistry
Evaluate molecular structure, binding, activity, selectivity, and optimisation considerations where relevant
Apply structure–activity reasoning to complex discovery scenarios
Assess whether proposed interpretations are chemically and mechanistically defensible
Incorporate realistic drug discovery constraints into research tasks
Create and evaluate problems involving enzyme mechanisms, kinetics, inhibition, and biochemical evidence
Integrate experimental observations into mechanistic reasoning
Assess competing hypotheses using available data
Identify evidence required to distinguish plausible mechanisms
Apply rigorous biochemical judgement to conclusions
Develop research challenges involving structure-guided peptide or antibody design
Evaluate molecular interactions, structural constraints, and experimental evidence
Assess proposed design decisions for scientific plausibility
Integrate structural and functional information into task design
Create problems requiring meaningful interpretation rather than direct retrieval
Design scenarios involving fragment identification, validation, and progression
Evaluate evidence supporting binding, structural interpretation, and compound development
Incorporate realistic uncertainty and competing experimental signals
Assess whether conclusions are appropriately supported by available evidence
Apply practical discovery-science judgement throughout task development
Create detailed grading documents for each research challenge
Define criteria that evaluate the substance and scientific reasoning of submitted solutions
Establish objective expectations for key findings and conclusions
Distinguish scientifically meaningful reasoning from stylistic differences
Ensure grading criteria accurately reflect the evidence provided
Run verification and calibration before submitting completed research tasks
Confirm that intended conclusions are supported by the evidence
Identify unintended shortcuts, ambiguities, or alternative interpretations
Evaluate task difficulty and scientific robustness
Refine tasks where validation reveals weaknesses or inconsistencies
Serve as the subject-matter authority for scientific and difficulty-related decisions within assigned tasks
Review feedback and revise materials when required
Defend scientific conclusions using evidence and domain expertise
Maintain rigorous standards across prompts, evidence packages, and grading materials
Ensure final tasks are internally consistent and scientifically credible