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Medicinal Chemist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Inductive Bio

Medicinal Chemist

New York, NY · On-site

$210K - $250K/yr

Inductive Bio is an AI medicinal chemistry partner .We build virtual labs that help drug discovery teams make better decisions, faster, across the full DMTA cycle. Our platform includes Beacon-1 ...

Vitrax

Medicinal Chemist

Placentia, CA · On-site

$90K - $170K/yr

Seeking self motivated experienced medicinal chemist to help lead custom synthesis group. Primary job responsibility involves development of key radiolabeled starting materials and their application ...

Vitrax

Medicinal Chemist

Placentia, CA · On-site

$90K - $170K/yr

Seeking self motivated experienced medicinal chemist to help lead custom synthesis group. Primary job responsibility involves development of key radiolabeled starting materials and their application ...

Arnatar

Director, Medicinal Chemistry

San Diego, CA · On-site

$150 - $200/hr

We combine deep scientific expertise in RNA biology, medicinal chemistry, and translational development to deliver therapies for diseases with high unmet medical need. Our culture prioritizes ...

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All JobsMedicinal Chemist Jobs

Medicinal Chemist information

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$81K

$143.8K

$194.5K

How much do medicinal chemist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for medicinal chemist in the United States is $143,750.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $120,000.00 and $175,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a medicinal chemist?

To thrive as a Medicinal Chemist, you need a solid background in organic chemistry, drug design, and analytical techniques, typically supported by a degree (Master’s or PhD) in chemistry or a related field. Familiarity with laboratory instrumentation, molecular modeling software, and techniques such as NMR, HPLC, and mass spectrometry is essential. Strong problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and collaborative communication skills help distinguish top professionals in this field. These capabilities are critical for efficiently designing, synthesizing, and optimizing drug candidates in a team-driven research environment.

Is there a demand for medicinal chemists?

Medicinal chemists are in steady demand due to ongoing pharmaceutical research and drug development efforts. Employment opportunities are available in biotech and pharmaceutical companies, often requiring skills in organic synthesis, analytical techniques, and knowledge of regulatory standards.

How much does a medicinal chemist get paid?

Medicinal chemists typically earn a median annual salary of around $80,000 to $120,000, depending on experience, education, and location. Entry-level positions may start lower, while experienced professionals or those in senior roles can earn higher salaries, especially in pharmaceutical or biotech industries.

What are some common challenges medicinal chemists face when working on drug discovery projects?

Medicinal chemists often encounter challenges such as optimizing the balance between a compound’s potency, selectivity, and safety. They must also address issues related to compound solubility, metabolic stability, and potential toxicity. Working closely with multidisciplinary teams—including biologists, pharmacologists, and computational chemists—is essential to address these hurdles and advance promising molecules through the drug discovery pipeline. Staying adaptable and continually learning new techniques are key to overcoming the evolving complexities of modern medicinal chemistry.

What does a medicinal chemist do?

A Medicinal Chemist is a scientist who designs, synthesizes, and tests new chemical compounds to develop potential new drugs. They work to understand how chemical structure affects biological activity and collaborate with biologists, pharmacologists, and other scientists in the drug discovery process. Their work is crucial in identifying and developing new medications that can treat diseases more effectively and with fewer side effects. Medicinal Chemists use a range of techniques in organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and computational modeling to optimize drug candidates.

What is the difference between Medicinal Chemist vs Organic Chemist?

AspectMedicinal ChemistOrganic Chemist
Required CredentialsBachelor's/Master's/PhD in Chemistry or related fieldBachelor's/Master's/PhD in Chemistry or related field
Work EnvironmentPharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, research labsAcademic labs, chemical manufacturing, research institutions
Employer & Industry UsageDrug discovery, pharmaceutical R&DChemical synthesis, materials development, research
Common Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding roles in drug developmentUnderstanding chemical synthesis and research

Medicinal Chemists focus on designing and developing new drugs, working closely with pharmaceutical R&D teams. Organic Chemists have a broader scope in chemical synthesis and research, often working in academia or chemical manufacturing. While both roles require strong chemistry credentials, Medicinal Chemists specialize in drug-related applications, whereas Organic Chemists work across various chemical industries.

What jobs can you do with medicinal chemist?

A medicinal chemist can work in drug discovery and development, designing and synthesizing new pharmaceutical compounds. They often work in pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, or research institutions, utilizing skills in organic chemistry, laboratory techniques, and analytical tools. Career options include roles such as research scientist, formulation chemist, or pharmacologist.
More about Medicinal Chemist jobs
What cities are hiring for Medicinal Chemist jobs? Cities with the most Medicinal Chemist job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Medicinal Chemist jobs? The most popular types of Medicinal Chemist jobs are:
Who are the top companies hiring for Medicinal Chemist jobs? The top employers for Medicinal Chemist jobs are:
What states have the most Medicinal Chemist jobs? States with the most job openings for Medicinal Chemist jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Medicinal Chemist jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Medicinal Chemist jobs are:
What are popular job titles related to Medicinal Chemist jobs? For Medicinal Chemist jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Medicinal Chemist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Medicinal Chemist job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 76% Full Time, 2% Part Time, 17% Contract, and 5% Nights. Highlights an 98% In-person, and 2% Hybrid job distribution, with an average salary of $143,750 per year, or $69.1 per hour.

Medicinal Chemist

Inductive Bio

New York, NY • On-site

$210K - $250K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision

Re-posted 20 days ago

Job description

Inductive Bio is an AI medicinal chemistry partner.We build virtual labs that help drug discovery teams make better decisions, faster, across the full DMTA cycle. Our platform includes Beacon-1 ADMET prediction models, human dose projection tools, and Indy, an AI medicinal chemistry assistant. Through partnerships with CROs, we also offer innovative synthesis approaches, direct-to-dose testing, and cost-effective tier 1 ADME panels that enable initial human PK projection, closing the loop from computational design to experimental validation. Together, these power dozens of small molecule and beyond-rule-of-five programs for biotech and pharma partners.
Beacon-1 placed 1st in both the 2025 Polaris and 2026 OpenADMET-ExpansionRx blind competitions, ahead of Merck & Co + NVIDIA and EMD Serono.
We've raised $30M from Obvious Ventures, a16z Bio + Health, and Lux Capital, and were selected for a $21M ARPA-H CATALYST award to develop next-generation toxicity models.
We are seeking an accomplished Medicinal Chemist to play a key role in building an AI-forward drug discovery platform that impacts all stages of the Design-Make-Test-Analyze cycle, and deploy that platform to dozens of programs across the industry! This role will report directly to our Head of Medicinal Chemistry.
What you'll do:
  • Be an embedded expert, supporting a variety of partner drug discovery programs from lead generation through development candidate nomination across diverse small molecule modalities.
  • Alongside outstanding compchem, DMPK, and machine learning colleagues, bring Inductive's tools and your medchem knowledge to our work as consultants on partners' projects.
  • Help deliver value to partners through Inductive's experimental offerings, where we combine our drug discovery experience, predictive models, and AI workflows with our chemistry and assay CRO partners to answer hypotheses effectively.
  • Build an AI-native drug discovery platform that will speed drugs to the clinic. Help make your ideas about how to improve the DMTA cycle a reality, as we flesh out Indy (our AI medicinal chemistry agent) and build assay and synthesis workflows that get to high-quality answers more quickly.
  • Represent Inductive's mission and build connections in the field, meeting with current and potential partners, gathering feedback about what drug discovery teams need, attending conferences and meetings, giving presentations, and authoring blog posts and publications.

Who you are:
  • An ideal candidate is a creative and accomplished medicinal chemist with a synthetic organic chemistry background who has played a meaningful role in advancing compounds to the development candidate stage. You are excited about working with partners to progress their programs, and you want to build the next generation of tools for drug discovery!
  • You have direct experience at all stages of drug discovery projects, and can point to go/no go judgement calls you've made in lead generation and lead optimization.
  • You've used different approaches to evaluate compound quality, from LLE to dose prediction, and appreciate the importance of contextualizing results in terms of their expected profile in humans.
  • The more modalities you've worked with, the better, from reversible and covalent to heterobifunctionals and peptides.
  • Along with designing compounds and analyzing data, you have years of experience in chemical synthesis with CROs. As you think about synthetic strategy, you look for convergent routes and late-stage intermediates.
  • You communicate effectively and proactively, seek feedback, handle proprietary information with discretion, embrace transparency, and treat others with respect.
  • Experience with predictive models and automation is a plus! (e.g. FEP, predictive ADME, AI retrosynthesis, direct to biology)

Working at Inductive
At Inductive Bio, we know that the people on the team are what make us great. We offer competitive salary and equity-based compensation; comprehensive healthcare benefits (including dental and vision); and the opportunity to grow along with a rapidly scaling company. We are a passionate, kind, and mature team. Working at a fast-growing startup is not always a 9-5 job, but we believe that our employees should have full lives beyond their career.

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