Research Senior Scientist, Cheminformatics

Takeda • Boston, MA

37d • $137,000 - $215,270

About The Position

We are seeking a skilled cheminformatic scientist to join Takeda’s cheminformatics team. This role will be key to fostering a “prediction-first” culture, integrating cheminformatics, computational chemistry, and machine learning to accelerate drug design. The candidate will collaborate closely with global teams in medicinal chemistry, DMPK, and AI/ML, defining a roadmap for computational tools that empower medicinal chemists to drive innovation.

Requirements

• PhD in Computational Chemistry, Cheminformatics, Computer Science or related disciplines, with 2+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotech setting.
• Solid programming and scripting capabilities (e.g., Python, R, C/C++) with a proven ability to design and automate scalable computational workflows.
• Strong expertise in cheminformatics toolkits such as RDKit
• Comprehensive knowledge of the DMTA cycle with demonstrated success in deploying predictive tools across the design process.
• Experience leading strategic initiatives to accelerate DMTA cycle.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with DEL data analysis and Multi-task DL method is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, automate and deploy cheminformatics workflows and visualization dashboards to support drug discovery projects.
• Identify opportunities throughout the DMTA cycle where predictive tools can drive acceleration.
• Build predictive models for molecule design and optimization.
• Extract medchem design knowledge from large-scale chemical and biological datasets.
• Stay updated with emerging trends in computational chemistry and machine learning as applied to drug discovery.
• Implement and execute innovative computational methodologies and tools such as AI-based drug discovery, generative chemistry, synthesizable chemical space exploration, DNA Encoded Library (DEL) data analysis and DEL/ML application.
• Serve as a trusted thought partner, helping to drive ideation and execution of innovative chemistry strategies that meet Takeda’s therapeutic goals.

Benefits

• U.S. based employees may be eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a tuition reimbursement program, paid volunteer time off, company holidays, and well-being benefits, among others.
• U.S. based employees are also eligible to receive, per calendar year, up to 80 hours of sick time, and new hires are eligible to accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation.

What This Job Offers

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