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Director Chemistry Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Real Chemistry

Associate Creative Director, Medical

$95K - $120K/yr

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn't just an aspiration-it's our everyday ... The Associate Creative Director, Art, plays a key creative role leading an integrated team of ...

Real Chemistry

Director, Client Media Solutions

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn't just an aspiration-it's our everyday ... The Director, Client Media Solutions is a strategic leader responsible for developing audience ...

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Director Chemistry information

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$28K

$116.5K

$187.5K

How much do director chemistry jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for director chemistry in the United States is $116,457.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $72,000.00 and $162,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges faced by a director of chemistry in managing multidisciplinary research teams?

A Director of Chemistry often coordinates projects involving chemists, biologists, engineers, and other specialists. One common challenge is ensuring effective communication and collaboration across these diverse teams, as each discipline may have different approaches and terminologies. Balancing administrative responsibilities with staying current on scientific advancements can also be demanding. Additionally, the Director must prioritize projects, allocate resources efficiently, and foster a culture of innovation while meeting organizational goals and regulatory requirements.

What does a director of chemistry do?

A Director of Chemistry is a senior leader responsible for overseeing the operations and strategic direction of a chemistry department or division, often within a pharmaceutical, biotech, or research organization. Their duties include managing teams of chemists, setting research priorities, allocating resources, ensuring compliance with safety and regulatory standards, and collaborating with other departments. They play a key role in driving innovation, guiding project development, and ensuring the quality and integrity of scientific work. The Director of Chemistry also mentors staff, manages budgets, and represents the department in executive meetings.

What careers in chemistry make the most money?

In chemistry, roles such as pharmaceutical chemist, chemical engineer, and materials scientist tend to have the highest salaries. These positions often require advanced degrees, specialized skills, and experience working with complex laboratory equipment and regulatory standards.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a director of chemistry?

To thrive as a Director of Chemistry, you need an advanced degree (PhD or MSc) in chemistry or a related field, with significant experience in research, laboratory management, and regulatory compliance. Expertise in analytical instrumentation, laboratory information management systems (LIMS), and familiarity with industry standards such as GLP or GMP is often required. Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and effective communication are essential soft skills for managing teams and driving innovation. These skills and qualities are crucial to ensure scientific excellence, regulatory adherence, and successful project delivery in a complex and dynamic environment.

What are 20 careers in chemistry?

A chemistry professional, such as a chemist or chemical engineer, can pursue careers in pharmaceuticals, environmental science, materials science, food safety, forensic science, quality control, research and development, teaching, patent law, regulatory affairs, manufacturing, consulting, toxicology, cosmetics, polymers, nanotechnology, academia, government agencies, sales and technical support, and laboratory management. These roles often require strong analytical skills, laboratory expertise, and relevant certifications or degrees. The field offers diverse opportunities across industries focused on innovation, safety, and scientific advancement.

What are the top 5 chemistry careers?

Top chemistry careers include roles such as chemical researcher, quality control analyst, process development scientist, pharmaceutical chemist, and environmental chemist. These positions often require strong laboratory skills, knowledge of chemical analysis tools, and relevant degrees in chemistry or related fields.

What is the difference between Director Chemistry vs Senior Chemist?

AspectDirector ChemistrySenior Chemist
Required CredentialsAdvanced degrees (PhD preferred), extensive experience, leadership skillsTypically a Master's or PhD, specialized technical expertise
Work EnvironmentStrategic planning, team management, cross-department collaborationLaboratory research, experimental design, technical analysis
Employer & Industry UsageResearch & development departments, pharmaceutical, chemical manufacturingResearch labs, product development, quality control

The main difference between Director Chemistry and Senior Chemist lies in their scope of responsibilities and experience. Directors focus on strategic leadership and managing teams, while Senior Chemists are more involved in hands-on research and technical tasks. Both roles require strong chemistry expertise, but the Director role emphasizes leadership and oversight.

More about Director Chemistry jobs
What cities are hiring for Director Chemistry jobs? Cities with the most Director Chemistry job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Chemistry jobs? The most popular types of Chemistry jobs are:
What states have the most Director Chemistry jobs? States with the most job openings for Director Chemistry jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Director Chemistry jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Director Chemistry jobs are:
Director Chemistry jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Chemistry job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 84% Full Time, 13% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $116,457 per year, or $56 per hour.

Senior Director / Vice President, Chemistry Experiment

Lila Sciences

Cambridge, MA • On-site

$204K - $346K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life

Re-posted 6 days ago

Job description

Your Impact at LILA
The Head of Chemistry will lead Lila's chemistry organization, establishing the strategic direction and team leadership that enables Chemistry to drive impact across all of Lila's discovery and platform efforts. This leader will build an experimental chemistry function spanning organic and inorganic chemistry, molecules and nanoparticles, discovery and process chemistry, synthetic and analytical methods, and target technologies spanning medicines to industrial chemistry.
The Head of Chemistry will lead Lila's experimental chemistry strategy in conjunction with senior advisors and will work closely with Lila's Product, AI, and Engineering leadership to establish AI-informing and AI-driven experimentation to address humankind's greatest challenges. The successful candidate will cultivate the culture and scientific rigor that define excellence in chemistry at Lila and scale the Chemistry team to tackle the breadth of opportunities afforded by Lila's development of scientific superintelligence.
The Head of Chemistry will report directly to the Chief Autonomous Science Officer, expanding Lila's team of science, engineering, and business leaders.
What You'll Be Building
Organization & Team Leadership
Chemistry Strategy & Innovation
What You'll Need to Succeed
  • PhD in Chemistry or a closely related discipline with 12+ years of experience in chemistry research
  • Demonstrated excellence building and leading high-performing chemistry teams, including hiring, mentoring, and developing scientists across multiple levels.
  • Deep expertise in molecular chemistry: synthetic organic/inorganic and nanochemistry, retrosynthesis, route design, and practical execution of complex multistep syntheses.
  • Experience in process chemistry, formulation development, and analytical chemistry.
  • Ability to evaluate synthetic feasibility alongside innovation potential to prioritize molecules and chemical series effectively.
  • Experience defining chemistry strategy and priorities with a passion for cross-functional collaboration
  • Experience working effectively in highly interdisciplinary environments spanning chemistry, materials science, biology, automation, and computational sciences.
  • Track record of scientific leadership, program delivery, and translating discoveries to commercializable solutions.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate chemistry depth into strategic clarity for diverse audiences.
  • Demonstrated ability to build inclusive, high-trust team cultures that attract and retain top talent in competitive chemistry markets.

Bonus Points For
  • Experience working in AI-enabled discovery environments or integrating computational design and machine learning insights into chemistry workflows.
  • Experience building and scaling automated, robotics-enabled, or high-throughput chemistry platforms for molecular synthesis and optimization.
  • Experience translating chemistry needs into platform requirements, including instrumentation selection, workflow design, and integration with automated systems.
  • Broad understanding of molecular design principles across therapeutics and other small-molecule innovation areas.
  • Experience operating in fast-paced, technology-driven environments where scientific creativity, speed, and cross-functional execution are critical.
  • Prior leadership experience at a growth-stage chemistry, biotech, or other deep-tech company.

Compensation
We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.
U.S. Benefits. Full-time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer-paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.
International Benefits. Full-time employees outside the U.S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region. USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.
Expected Base Salary Range
$204,000-$346,000 USD
About LILA
Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence™ to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI. Rather than hard-coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.
LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory™ instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy. Learn more at www.lila.ai.
Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you don't meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.
We're All In
Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.
Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.
A Note to Agencies
Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science's internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

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