Senior Scientist I, Cheminformatics

Eikon Therapeutics • Millbrae, CA

6d

About The Position

Eikon Therapeutics seeks a Senior Scientist with demonstrated experience applying cheminformatics and machine learning technologies to drug discovery programs. The role collaborates with computational chemists, medicinal chemists, software engineers, and machine learning experts to turn assay and structure-activity data into interpretable information for decision-making. As part of the Drug Discovery team, the Senior Scientist will help accelerate drug discovery and contribute to efforts intended to benefit patients.

The position applies cheminformatics and AI/ML methods to molecular modeling, virtual screening, SAR analysis, chemical and biological data processing, hit triage, and predictive modeling. It also supports data pipelines, model documentation and reproducibility, and integration of computational approaches into drug discovery workflows.

Requirements

• Ph.D. plus 5 years of relevant experience, or Master's plus 14 years of relevant experience, or Bachelor's plus 16 years of relevant experience.
• Expertise in cheminformatics data analysis, data mining, and machine learning models for drug discovery problems.
• Expertise in ligand-based design approaches, QSAR, and multiparameter optimization to rationalize SAR and design novel molecules.
• Experience with scientific programming languages such as Python, RDKit and other cheminformatics libraries, and data analytics tools such as Spotfire, DataWarrior, and D360.
• Experience in virtual screening, HTS triaging, hit calling, and diversity analysis.
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic research environment.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to convey complex scientific concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with commercial platforms and ELN/registration systems such as Schrödinger, OpenEye, MOE, Dotmatics, DataBricks, and KNIME.
• A track record of publications, patents, and/or conference presentations in computational chemistry and/or drug discovery.

Responsibilities

• Develop and apply cheminformatics data-mining algorithms to analyze molecular modeling, virtual screening, and structure-activity relationship (SAR) data.
• Process and analyze chemical and biological datasets to evaluate properties such as drug-likeness, ADMET properties, and dosing.
• Use molecular fingerprints, descriptors, and similarity metrics for compound clustering, classification, and regression.
• Assist in developing, maintaining, and monitoring AI/ML models for property prediction.
• Optimize data pipelines for processing and storing chemical structures using cheminformatics toolkits such as RDKit.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate computational approaches into curation and analysis workflows.
• Maintain best practices for data integrity, reproducibility, and documentation of QSAR AI/ML models.
• Provide guidance on modern cheminformatics and ML/AI methods for library design and analysis of large HTS datasets to build predictive models.
• Apply expert knowledge to analyze SAR, physicochemical, and ADMET properties.
• Work with medicinal chemists to triage emerging hits from HTS.
• Collaborate with the data science team to integrate AI/ML tools into chemistry and drug discovery processes.

Benefits

• Bonus and equity compensation.
• 401k plan with company matching.
• Medical insurance, with premiums covered by Eikon at 95%.
• Dental insurance, with premiums covered by Eikon at 100%.
• Vision insurance, with premiums covered by Eikon at 100%.
• Mental health and wellness benefits.
• Weeklong summer and winter holiday shutdowns.
• Generous paid time off and holiday policies.
• Life/AD&D insurance, with premiums covered by Eikon at 100%, and optional supplemental employee-paid life/AD&D policies.
• Enhanced parental leave benefit.
• Daily subsidized lunch program when on-site.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior