Medicinal Chemistry Synthesis Director

About Parabilis Medicines 

Parabilis Medicines is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to creating extraordinary medicines for patients with serious diseases by unlocking biologically important targets long considered undruggable. The company has pioneered a new class of alpha-helical peptides – Helicons™ – capable of modulating intracellular proteins that have historically been beyond the reach of conventional medicines. The company’s lead investigational medicine, zolucatetide, is the first and only direct inhibitor of the β-catenin:TCF interaction, a central node in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway that has eluded drug developers for decades. Zolucatetide is being evaluated in the clinic across multiple Wnt/β-catenin-driven diseases, including desmoid tumors, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and a range of other solid tumor indications. Beyond zolucatetide, Parabilis is advancing additional Helicon-based programs focused on other challenging targets where we believe our medicines could have life-altering impact. For more information, visit www.parabilismed.com or follow us on LinkedIn. 

What’s the opportunity?

Parabilis Medicines, Inc. is seeking a highly talented and motivated Director, Medicinal Chemsitry Synthesis, Reporting to the Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry Synthesis. ou will have an exciting opportunity to advance a transformational new modality, Helicons™, including degraders and other induced proximity approaches, through first-in-class and best-in-class programs. We are seeking a creative and enthusiastic synthetic chemist with a passion for advancing programs to candidate nomination.

Responsibilities:

• Own the product vision and roadmap for our AI, informatics, and data products, translating organizational strategy into a sequenced plan the team can execute against
• Partner with stakeholders across research, development, clinical, and business functions to gather requirements, build lasting trust, and separate the critical few needs from the nice-to-haves
• Drive the company-wide portfolio of AI-driven tools — identifying where AI can automate and scale the work of scientists and business teams, and prioritizing turning open ended possibilities into prioritized workstreams
• Work with software engineers and data scientists to turn needs into clearly scoped plans with realistic timelines and explicit, well-communicated tradeoffs
• Favor functional prototypes over lengthy design documents — get working software in front of users early, gather feedback on a regular cadence, and iterate toward the right answer
• Make pragmatic decisions under real timelines while protecting the long-term sustainability and quality of what gets built
• Make extensive use of AI in your own work — research, requirements, specs, prototypes, and analysis — and set the standard for how a small team scales its output
• Define what success looks like for every product, instrument adoption and impact, and hold the team and yourself to those measures

What you’ll need to be successful:

• A Ph.D. in Chemistry and 10+ years of industry experience

• Demonstrated expertise in synthetic route design and execution across a range of molecular complexities.

• A strong background in synthetic methodology development, complex problem solving, and modern small-molecule synthesis.

• Experience leading projects and managing external CRO partnerships.

• A collaborative approach and a desire to incorporate novel synthetic tools to improve efficiency.

• Innovative thinking, a growth mindset, and a willingness to challenge conventional approaches.

• A passion for drug discovery and advancing novel therapeutic modalities.

• Excellent communication, organizational, and collaboration skills.

• The ability to independently prioritize and deliver against timelines aligned with company objectives.

• Demonstrated ability to utilize AI tools for day-to-day work; baseline proficiency is expected.

• The ability to work on-site and attend in-person meetings.

• Experience in solid-phase peptide synthesis is preferred.

Core Values

Parabilis Medicines is a team of passionate pioneers who are trailblazing the future of precision medicine with the aim of making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients. The company is committed to promoting an inspiring and flourishing working environment for all employees across the business, in all departments, and driving innovation for patient benefit.

• Growth-Minded. We’re inventing a new class of medicines—one applicable to therapeutic targets that have been dreamt about, but always considered impossible to drug. Our work requires us to be curious, humble and adaptable.
• In(ter)dependent. We are fiercely independent as a leader in defying the limitations of current therapeutic modalities, and interdependent as a team as we work collaboratively to shift drug discovery paradigms and provide patients with better treatment options.
• Patient-focused. We are deeply focused on patient outcomes, and all energy in the company is focused on science as it translates to patient impact.
• All-In. We’re All-In on solving some of the hardest scientific challenges and delivering one of the most effective new classes of drugs in history.

The base salary range for this position is $200,000-$240,000, depending on experience, qualifications, and internal practices. Parabilis’s total compensation package also includes an annual target bonus, equity, and a comprehensive suite of competitive benefits designed to support our employees’ overall well-being.

As an equal opportunity employer, Parabilis Medicines values an inclusive workplace and welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and experiences. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.

30 Acorn Park Drive    |     Cambridge, MA 02140    |    www.parabilismed.com