Associate Director / Director, Biochemistry

About the Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Biochemist to join our drug discovery team in Watertown. This individual will work with a focused team of biophysicists, biochemists, structural biologists, and chemists to enable early hit finding activities. The candidate will design and execute experiments to support 1-2 programs at any one time. They should be someone who enjoys working in the lab and is excited to work on a wide range of activities: mechanistic exploration, HTS screens, Hit finding/Lead-op assays, etc.  The successful candidate will combine enzymology and biochemistry expertise with quantitative modeling, strong experimental skills in the lab, and an ability to communicate and collaborate across multi-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute mechanistic investigations of drug targets using kinetic, thermodynamic, and chemical biology approaches. Characterize mechanisms of action for screening hits, tool compounds, and lead molecules.
• Build and use kinetic and mechanistic models to quantitatively predict and interpret experimental outcomes.
• Integrate mechanistic data with structural biology, medicinal chemistry, and cell-based readouts to prioritize follow-up chemistry and propose assay and compound-optimization strategies.
• Design and implement robust assays for hit finding and high throughput screening, including primary biochemical assays and downstream assays for hit triage and binning.
• Develop and maintain robust, high-quality assays and SOPs; ensure reproducibility and rigorous data analysis.
• Communicate findings clearly to colleagues and stakeholders through written reports and presentations to cross-functional project teams.
• Flexibly utilize the full breadth of your skills outside of biochemistry to support projects.
• Propose and evaluate new approaches and technologies.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Biochemistry, Enzymology, Chemical Biology, Biophysics or closely related discipline with 6+ years of biotech/pharma industry experience or MS with 10+ years relevant industry experience.
• Experience in small molecule drug discovery, specifically biochemical assay development and characterization of small molecule inhibitors and protein-ligand binding interactions.
• Training and hands on expertise in mechanistic enzymology, kinetics, binding assays, and mechanistic deconvolution with a proven track record of high impact applications to drug discovery.
• Expertise deriving and validating mechanistic models based on a merger of biochemical, biophysical and structural data including expertise with global fitting and kinetic and steady state modeling.
• Track record of translating mechanistic insight into practical strategies for hit identification, hit triage, lead selection, SAR interpretation, or assay design.
• Experience designing and optimizing a wide array of steady-state and pre-steady-state biochemical assays, both enzymatic and binding, such as FP, TR-FRET, and bead-based.
• Attention to detail and good troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills, with demonstrated ability to work collaboratively on multidisciplinary teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience studying both reversible and non-reversible mechanisms, fragment-based screening, and DEL.
• Knowledge of automation and validation of assays for HTS.
• Experience working with CROs.

This position is classified as exempt. The anticipated annual base salary range for candidates who will work in Watertown, MA is $190,902  -  $227,630. The final base salary offered to the successful candidate will be dependent upon several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the job, education, and other factors. Treeline Biosciences is a multi-state employer, and this salary range may not reflect positions that work in other cities or states.

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