Lead Medicinal Chemist

If you are a current Jazz employee please apply via the Internal Career site.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharma company whose purpose is to innovate to transform the lives of patients and their families. We are dedicated to developing life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases - often with limited or no therapeutic options. We have a diverse portfolio of marketed medicines, including leading therapies for sleep disorders and epilepsy, and a growing portfolio of cancer treatments. Our patient-focused and science-driven approach powers pioneering research and development advancements across our robust pipeline of innovative therapeutics in oncology and neuroscience. Jazz is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with research and development laboratories, manufacturing facilities and employees in multiple countries committed to serving patients worldwide. Please visit for more information.

This is a hybrid role, where you will be expected to work onsite a least 4 days per week

Job Role:

We are looking for a dynamic, creative and talented medicinal chemist with a strong background in organic synthesis, ADMET/DMPK and cutting-edge CADD techniques, to join our expanding Discovery & Medicinal Chemistry department. Reporting to the Director of Medicinal Chemistry, you will apply your expertise, leadership and guidance to discover and develop novel small-molecule therapeutic agents. You will be working within a patient-focused, science-driven and multi-disciplinary biopharmaceutical environment, covering all stages of the drug discovery process. You will collaborate with scientists from other disciplines within Jazz Pharmaceuticals and with external collaborators to build an innovative portfolio of therapeutics across our exciting and growing oncology and neuroscience pipelines. Working at the forefront of drug discovery you will advance projects from target selection to pre-clinical drug candidates and FiH trials, and contribute to the growth of the medicinal chemistry team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead medicinal chemistry and drug design efforts in multi-disciplinary and highly collaborative project teams to discover and develop novel small-molecule therapeutics for high unmet medical needs.
• Apply your knowledge and technical skills to champion and execute research projects either as a chemistry or project lead.
• Collaborate effectively with other departments and functions to advance research discovery programs expeditiously from hit identification to high quality pre-clinical candidates.
• Lead, manage and mentor a small team of talented synthetic & medicinal chemists, fostering their scientific growth and career development.
• Coordinate CRO activities, providing synthetic and medicinal chemistry expertise and guidance.
• Contribute to the overall corporate medicinal chemistry strategy.
• Present plans and results internally, including at board level, and externally at conferences.
• Contribute to the writing of patent applications and scientific publications.
• Keep up to date with the latest scientific advances and trends in medicinal chemistry to deliver the next-generation therapies.

Requirements & Qualifications:

• MSc/PhD in a relevant scientific discipline (Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry) with a solid foundation in medicinal chemistry built in a pharma/biotech/CRO setting.

• Passion for drug discovery with a deep entrepreneurial and problem-solving attitude.
• Mastery of all the theoretical and practical principles of medicinal chemistry, organic synthesis and drug design.
• Broad knowledge of biophysical, biochemical and cell-based assays used in the early stages of the drug discovery process.
• In depth understanding of the multi-parameter optimization process and ability to integrate disease biology, ADME/DMPK and toxicology data to solve complex drug discovery problems.
• Sound knowledge in cutting-edge cheminformatic tools, AI/ML-enabled technologies and in silico drug design, including both structure- and ligand-based methodologies.
• Excellent leadership, management, organizational and team-working skills, and a talent to deliver project milestones within the expected time frame.
• Demonstrated track record of scientific publications in medicinal chemistry applied to drug discovery.
• Exceptional oral, written and interpersonal communication skills, and ability to develop and grow strong cross-functional collaborations.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.

The successful candidate will also be eligible to participate in various benefits offerings, including, but not limited to, medical, dental and vision insurance, retirement savings plan, and flexible paid vacation. For more information on our Benefits offerings please click here: .