Senior/Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

Nurix•The Woodlands, TX

About The Position

Nurix Therapeutics is seeking a talented and highly motivated medicinal chemist with a strong background in synthetic organic chemistry to join its medicinal chemistry group and pursue degrader-based small molecules for patients with unmet medical needs. The scientist will design and synthesize novel chemical entities optimized for potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo efficacy, using rational structure-based drug discovery in collaboration with computational and structural biology groups. As a member of a multidisciplinary team, the scientist will collaborate with colleagues across Nurix and with external partners. The role also contributes to patent, report, and scientific publication writing and initiates or leads process improvements within the chemistry department or across functions. Nurix Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing targeted protein degradation medicines for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Its discovery engine integrates AI and draws on the company’s ligase expertise to advance targeted protein degradation into clinical applications.

Requirements

Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry.
8–10+ years of pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry industry experience.
Track record of delivering advanced leads or development candidates.
Excellent knowledge of medicinal chemistry principles and solid understanding of program biology and pharmacology, ADME concepts, and series SAR.
Strong working knowledge of protein-ligand interactions, conformational analysis, and structural analysis.
Experience partnering closely with computational chemists using computational tools, models, and visualization applications.
Expertise in organic synthesis, knowledge of current literature, and strong synthetic problem-solving skills.
Proven leadership capability in a cross-functional team setting, as a project team leader or co-lead.
Ability to manage priorities and advance multiple projects simultaneously.
Strong evidence of conceptual thinking and active follow-through, including establishing new projects or directions, strategies, and/or enabling technologies.
Strong team orientation and collaboration; ability to function in a dynamic environment; solutions- and results-oriented focus; hands-on, resourceful approach; openness to diverse points of view.
Excellent communication skills and ability to present rationale, key data, issues, and accomplishments.

Nice To Haves

Experience supervising direct reports to a high level of productivity and mentoring them for career development.

Responsibilities

Design and synthesize novel chemical entities optimized for potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo efficacy.
Engage in rational structure-based drug discovery with computational and structural biology groups.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary colleagues at Nurix and external collaborators.
Contribute to patent, report, and scientific publication writing.
Initiate and/or lead process improvements within the chemistry department or cross-functionally.
Integrate medicinal chemistry, biology, pharmacology, ADME, and series SAR knowledge to direct drug discovery programs toward phase transitions or series go/no-go decisions.
Contribute inventive chemical target structures or templates and evaluate early screening or literature hits.
Gather, document, and analyze competitive intelligence from sources such as patents and meetings, and use it to guide program strategy.
Present rationale, key data, issues, and accomplishments to the company.
Manage priorities and advance multiple projects simultaneously.
Establish new projects or directions, strategies, and enabling technologies for drug discovery.
Potentially supervise direct reports and mentor their career development.