Scientific Vice President, Lead Discovery & Optimization

Bristol Myers Squibb • Princeton, NJ

4h

About The Position

The Scientific Vice President, Lead Discovery & Optimization (LDO) is a senior scientific and enterprise leader responsible for end-to-end lead discovery and optimization across a broad range of therapeutic areas, target classes, and modalities. The role spans target-to-lead, lead optimization, and preclinical candidate nomination, with accountability for mechanistic pharmacology, evolving discovery platforms, technology enablement, and IND readiness. This role leads a large, multi-disciplinary cross-site (Lawrenceville NJ, San Diego CA, Cambridge MA, and Bangalore India) discovery organization (100+ scientists), including direct leadership of senior leaders, and plays a critical role in shaping the Lab of the Future by integrating automation, advanced technologies, and AI-enabled discovery workflows with deep biological and pharmacological rigor. (Senior Executive – In Vitro Pharmacology / Lead Discovery / Mechanistic Pharmacology)

Requirements

• PhD (or equivalent) in Pharmacology, Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, or related discipline.
• 15+ years of drug discovery experience, including senior leadership roles in large pharmaceutical or advanced biotech organizations.
• Demonstrated experience across multiple therapeutic areas and diverse target classes.
• Proven track record of advancing programs from early discovery through IND.
• Direct experience leading organizations or teams of 40+ people, including people managers.
• Deep expertise in screening, in vitro pharmacology, mechanistic biology, and molecular differentiation.

Nice To Haves

• Experience evolving or overseeing discovery platforms at scale.
• Exposure to or leadership in automation, digital labs, or AI-enabled discovery.
• Strong track record partnering across chemistry, biology, translational, and technology organizations.
• Experience contributing to enterprise-level discovery transformation or Lab of the Future initiatives

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership across lead discovery and optimization, with deep oversight of in vitro pharmacology, mechanistic biology, and molecular profiling.
• Drive strategies for complex targets and differentiated, first-in-class or best-in-class mechanisms.
• Ensure discovery decisions are grounded in molecular quality, differentiated attributes, and mechanistic and translational insight.
• Champion mechanistic pharmacology and disease-relevant biology as core drivers of molecular differentiation and downstream success.
• Oversee discovery efforts across multiple therapeutic areas (e.g., oncology, immunology, cardiovascular, neuroscience).
• Bring experience across diverse target classes, including historically challenging or emerging target categories.
• Maintain strong translational line of sight from in vitro pharmacology through in vivo and early clinical hypotheses.
• Lead the evolution of lead discovery platforms across small molecules, and complex / emerging modalities.
• Foster cross-functional and cross-modality fluency, enabling teams to bridge pharmacology, chemistry, biology, and technology.
• Ensure platforms are scalable, adaptable, and aligned with pipeline needs.
• Set direction for state-of-the-art automation to enable broader profiling, higher-content mechanistic insight, and increased throughput for disease relevant phenotypic screens.
• Partner with technology, data science, and AI teams to embed AI-enabled learning and decision loops into discovery workflows.
• Help define and execute a Lab of the Future roadmap aligned with enterprise discovery strategy.
• Drive sustainable IND delivery through integration of mechanistic rigor, translational insight, and platform maturity.
• Ensure strong alignment with adjacent functions- chemistry, biology, DMPK, safety, and preclinical teams.
• Influence portfolio and capability investment decisions to support sustainable pipeline flow.
• Lead and develop a 100+ person, multi-layered organization, including direct leadership of senior leaders.
• Build strong talent pipelines, succession plans, and organizational health.
• Operate effectively within a large-pharma, matrixed environment.
• Serve as a visible scientific leader internally and externally.

Benefits

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.
• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).
• Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.
• Work-life benefits include: Paid Time Off US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees) Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays Based on eligibility, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day. All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.
• The summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program.

What This Job Offers

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