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Salary: USD 237,600 - 284,900 / annual
Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage TechBio company, seeks an Executive Director of Chemical Biology & Drug Design to lead the development and expansion of chemical biology efforts that bridge multiomic discovery with target identification. This is a senior scientific leadership role responsible for setting chemical biology strategy, managing a team of designers, and driving programs that connect multiomic discovery to target ID while designing the chemical probe library to facilitate target discovery.
You will lead multidisciplinary project teams, partnering closely with internal biology, multiomics platform (high-content imaging, RNA sequencing, etc.), computational biologists, and data scientists to translate novel target and ligand insights into potent, selective, and developable chemical matter. You will bring hands-on chemical biology expertise combined with strategic judgment to prioritize programs, manage internal and external (CRO) teams, and build new capabilities to establish emerging modalities within the portfolio. Recursion's AI/ML-driven Design Platform is a core tool your team will leverage, and you will play an active role in shaping how computational and generative design approaches integrate into chemical biology decision-making.
Key responsibilities include: setting chemical biology strategy based on Recursion's multiomics platform with focus on linking proprietary biology maps to targets using modern chemical biology methods; building, managing, and mentoring a team of multiomics chemists in a coaching-driven environment; establishing and managing internal and external chemistry teams and networks for screening, synthesis, and validation campaigns; partnering with biology, target ID, structural biology, and computational drug design teams; defining program strategy and go/no-go criteria with senior leadership; representing the team in portfolio reviews and governance meetings; and contributing to IP strategy and business development activities related to novel chemical matter and new modalities.
The role blends deep technical credibility with people and program leadership within Recursion's Drug Design team, part of the Discovery function. You will work alongside computational drug design, medicinal chemistry, biology, data science, and platform technology groups that integrate proprietary AI-driven technology with advanced molecular design. The team tackles structurally enabled and non-structurally enabled targets across diverse therapeutic areas, with growing focus on proximity approaches (protein degradation, molecular glues) and PPI blockers (macrocycles).
REQUIREMENTS:
- PhD in chemical biology, chemistry, or related field with 10+ years of relevant industry experience and demonstrated people leadership
- Deep, hands-on track record in chemical probe design including selective inhibitors, proximity approaches (molecular glue degraders, PROTACs), covalent chemistry, or activity-based/photoaffinity chemistry
- Proven ability to deconvolute phenotypic hits to mechanism via chemoproteomics or equivalent target ID methods
- Track record building and scaling a chemical biology function through hiring, mentoring, and developing multiple scientists and managers
- Experience setting multi-year technical strategy (chemical library architecture, probe portfolio direction) rather than executing single programs
- Comfort operating with high ambiguity—translating open biological questions into executable chemistry strategy without pre-defined targets
- Executive-level communication skills; able to represent chemical biology strategy to C-suite/board and influence cross-functional senior leaders
- Prior experience managing, mentoring, or leading chemists and cross-functional project teams, including internal/external (CRO) team management
NICE TO HAVE:
- Direct experience with phenomics, high-content imaging (Cell Painting), or other image-based screening platforms
- Familiarity with how AI/ML-derived phenotypic signatures inform compound prioritization or target nomination
- External scientific visibility through publications, conference leadership, or partner/BD-facing technical credibility
- Experience contributing to IP strategy or licensing diligence involving novel chemical matter
