Principal Scientist - Induced Proximity Medicinal Chemistry

Amgen•Thousand Oaks, CA

1d•$144,755 - $195,845•Onsite

About The Position

Amgen is hiring a Principal Scientist for its Medicinal Chemistry group. The role designs and advances small-molecule induced-proximity medicines for potential clinical development, applying hands-on synthetic and medicinal chemistry expertise to PROTACs, molecular glue degraders, and other proximity-based modalities. The work integrates molecular design with knowledge of ternary-complex biology, target engagement, protein degradation or functional modulation, and drug-like properties. This is an onsite laboratory position at the Thousand Oaks site. The scientist will lead induced-proximity medicinal chemistry research from hit finding through development-candidate nomination, guide compound design using integrated scientific data, and collaborate across discovery and development disciplines. The position also provides technical guidance and mentorship, supports rigorous and safe research practices, and generates results for publications, patents, presentations, and external collaborations.

Requirements

Doctorate degree and 2 years of scientific experience, or master's degree and 5 years of scientific experience, or bachelor's degree and 7 years of scientific experience.
Strong hands-on synthetic and medicinal chemistry expertise applicable to induced-proximity medicines.

Nice To Haves

Doctorate degree in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, or a closely related discipline, with 6 or more years of experience in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry.
Demonstrated experience designing, synthesizing, and optimizing induced-proximity medicines, particularly PROTACs and/or molecular glue degraders; experience with additional targeted-chimera modalities is highly desirable.
Strong command of modern medicinal and synthetic chemistry approaches, including efficient preparation of complex, highly functionalized small molecules and use of parallel synthesis, route design, purification, and analytical characterization to accelerate SAR.
Ability to translate integrated biology, biophysical, biochemical, proteomics, cellular, DMPK, and in vivo data into actionable compound-design hypotheses; familiarity with degradation metrics such as DC50, Dmax, kinetics, selectivity, and exposure-response relationships.
Deep understanding of discovery disciplines relevant to induced proximity, including chemical biology, structural biology, biophysics, cellular pharmacology, DMPK, safety, and translational science.
Extensive record of impactful drug-discovery accomplishments demonstrated through patent inventorship, peer-reviewed publications, scientific presentations, and successful cross-functional collaboration.
Excellent written and oral communication skills, sound scientific judgment, a collaborative leadership style, and ability to mentor colleagues and influence decisions across a matrixed organization.

Responsibilities

Design, synthesize, purify, and characterize small molecules across proximity modalities, including heterobifunctional degraders, molecular glues, and emerging targeted-chimera approaches.
Apply sound design strategies to target ligands, E3 ligase or recruiter ligands, linker architecture, attachment vectors, and property-modulating elements.
Devise and implement medicinal chemistry research for induced-proximity programs, including experimental plans and decision criteria from hit finding through development-candidate nomination.
Lead hypothesis-driven SAR and structure-property-activity relationships integrating potency, degradation or functional response, selectivity, cooperativity, ternary-complex behavior, target engagement, permeability, solubility, metabolic stability, pharmacokinetics, and developability.
Collaborate with chemical biology, structural biology, biophysics, proteomics, cell biology, DMPK, safety, translational sciences, and computational chemistry colleagues to interpret data and guide molecular design.
Develop strategies for modality-specific medicinal chemistry challenges, including molecular weight and polarity, linker conformational control, permeability and efflux, oral exposure, tissue distribution, E3-ligase expression and engagement, neosubstrate risk, hook effect, and durable pharmacology.
Maintain awareness of induced-proximity mechanisms, recruiters, chemical biology tools, assays, publications, and patent activity, and identify opportunities to strengthen the portfolio and platform.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to scientists, research associates, and external chemistry partners.
Ensure rigorous experimental design, data integrity, documentation, safe laboratory practice, and timely execution.
Generate scientific results supporting publications, patents, conference presentations, and external collaborations.