Medicinal Chemist Jobs in Decatur, GA (NOW HIRING)

About Us
For more than 60 years, Kennesaw State University has been known for its entrepreneurial spirit and sense of community. A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State is located just north of Atlanta and combines a suburban setting on two metro-Atlanta campuses in Kennesaw and Marietta. As one of Georgia's largest universities, Kennesaw State offers undergraduate and graduate degrees to over 50,000 students. Our high-impact research and Division I athletics also draw students from throughout the region and across the globe. A member of the University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2) committed to becoming a world-class academic institution positioned to broaden its academic and research missions and expand its scope on a local, regional, and national level.
Our university's vibrant culture, career opportunities, rich benefits, and values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity, and accountability make us an employer of choice. As part of the University System of Georgia , Kennesaw State exemplifies the power and promise of a student-centered, research-driven university. In addition, Kennesaw State supports the University of Georgia's core values of accountability, excellence, integrity, and respect. We are searching for talented people to join Kennesaw State University in our vision. Kennesaw State is launching a new strategic plan in 2024-2025. For more information, visit https://www.kennesaw.edu/ .
Location
Our Kennesaw campus is located at 1000 Chastain Road NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144. Our Marietta campus is located at 1100 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060.
Department Information
The professional guidance and student-focused instruction in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry utilizes hands-on training with state-of-the-art instrumentation in synthesis and analytical techniques. All students, starting in their first year, are encouraged to participate in innovative interdisciplinary research experiences to enhance their occupationally relevant degree. Our future-ready graduates are prepared for successful careers in industry, academia, and health sciences.
Job Summary
Kennesaw State University is now accepting applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry with a preferred start date of August 2026. This is a nine-month contracted position is for work to be performed in the state of Georgia.
The area of concentration is research that integrates theoretical organic chemistry with molecular modeling and design, high-performance computing (HPC), and potentially artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approaches to advance molecular design, elucidate reaction mechanisms, or address related challenges in organic, physical organic, organometallic, bioorganic, or medicinal chemistry.
This position would have access to KSU's research hub for data-intensive chemical modeling. The versatile high-performance computer cluster (vHPC) launched in 2025 has 12 compute nodes and is offered as a research computing core service. Each of these nodes has two CPUs (Intel Xenon Gold 6342 @ 2.80 GHz with 24-cores each) and 4 GPUs (NVIDIA Ampere A100 80 GB PCIe) with 512 GB RAM. The compute nodes are interconnected via a fast InfiniBand network that also connects to ~360 TB of compute storage and to large, longer-term petabyte-scale storage (~6 PB). The computer cluster offers over 400 software modules (e.g., Gromacs, Gaussian, Mathematica, MATLAB, MOLPRO, Turbomole).
Responsibilities

• Teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses in chemistry and/or biochemistry, with a specialization in organic chemistry-related courses.
• Mentoring undergraduate and graduate (M.S.) students.
• Taking a leadership role in developing an externally funded, collaborative research program that engages undergraduate and graduate students as contributing co-investigators in the area of computational chemistry.
• Committing to teaching that advances student success and prioritizes meaningful investment in KSU students.
• Participation in professional service activities within the Department, the College of Science and Mathematics, the University and beyond.

Teaching assignments will be based on earned degrees and SACSCOC Faculty Credentials Guidelines.
Required Qualifications

• A Doctorate degree, or the foreign equivalent, in Chemistry, Biochemistry or a closely related discipline is required at the time of hire.
• Post-doctoral training, or equivalent relevant postgraduate experiences with a demonstrated track record of peer-reviewed publications.
• A well-articulated research agenda in the area of computational chemistry (molecular design, organic reactivity, catalysis, reaction pathways, materials design, or related fields in organic, organometallic, physical organic, bioorganic, or medicinal chemistry) that demonstrate strong potential for securing external funding and effectively incorporates graduate (M.S.) and undergraduate research students.
• Demonstrated expertise in computational chemistry by a minimum 2 years of experience using major computational chemistry software packages (e.g., Gaussian, ORCA, NWChem Q-Chem, or Amber) or peer reviewed publications in computational chemistry where the candidate served as lead or primary contributor.
• Ability to teach organic chemistry-related coursework at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as evidenced by graduate-level coursework or prior teaching experience in organic chemistry or closely related coursework.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior teaching experience, especially in organic chemistry.
• Prior success in securing extramural funding, especially those that may be transferable to this position.
• Demonstrate expertise in mathematical algorithms, high-performance computing, AI/ML tools, quantum chemical methods, molecular dynamics, or data driven modeling to investigate organic reactivity, catalysis, reaction pathways, materials design, or related fields.

Required Documents to Attach

1. Cover Letter
2. Current Curriculum Vitae
3. Unofficial Undergraduate and Graduate Transcripts (Official Transcripts and Official International Course-by-Course Evaluations due upon hire)
4. Statement of Research/Scholarship Interests including which areas of chemistry your program will engage in at KSU, and a list of equipment needs (5 pages max)
5. Statement of Teaching Philosophy, including how you will advance student success at KSU (2 pages max)
6. Names, phone numbers, and email addresses of at least 3 references

Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Apply Before Date
Review of applications will begin immediately. For full consideration, please apply by March 27, 2026.
Contact Information
For questions about this faculty opening, please contact Daniela Tapu, PhD, dtapu@kennesaw.edu .
For technical support or assistance completing a job application, please contact the Shared Services Center at (877) 251-2644 or support@usg.edu .
For questions about a specific job posting at Kennesaw State University, please contact the search chair listed under the contact information section on each posting. For general questions about faculty jobs please email facultyjobs@kennesaw.edu .
USG Core Values
The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct .
Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653 .
Equal Employment Opportunity
Kennesaw State University is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for living, work and study. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and University policy, the University prohibits harassment of or discrimination against any person because of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment, pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity or national origin, religion, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran or military status by any member of the KSU Community on campus, in connection with a University program or activity, or in a manner that creates a hostile environment for members of the KSU community.
For additional information on this policy, or to file a complaint under the provisions of this policy, students, employees, applicants for employment or admission or other third parties should contact the Office of Institutional Equity at English Building, Suite 225, eeo@kennesaw.edu.
Background Check
Per the University System of Georgia background check policy, all final candidates will be required to consent to a criminal background investigation. Final candidates may be asked to disclose criminal record history during the initial screening process and prior to a conditional offer of employment. Applicants for positions of trust with screening results which confirm a disqualifying criminal history will be immediately disqualified from employment eligibility.
All applicants are required to include professional references as part of their application process. Some positions may require additional job based screenings such as motor vehicle report, credit check, preemployment drug screening and/or verification of academic credentials. https://www.usg.edu/hr/assets/hr/hrap_manual/HRAP_Background_Investigation_Employment.pdf