(Senior) Director of Product, Medicinal Chemistry

Lila Sciences is seeking a strategic (Senior) Director of Product, Medicinal Chemistry, to lead the vision, roadmap, and execution for products at the intersection of drug discovery, life science research, and scientific intelligence. This high-impact role involves shaping Lila's chemistry and small molecule discovery capabilities, identifying product opportunities, defining target product profiles, and driving execution across cross-functional teams in science, ML, automation, and data engineering. The director will manage resources, define success metrics, and represent product leadership to internal and external stakeholders, contributing significantly to the future of therapeutic research and development.

Must Have

• Set and drive long-term product vision and strategic roadmap for chemistry and small molecule discovery.
• Identify and shape product opportunities grounded in real-world discovery challenges.
• Define target product profiles (TPPs) and develop product strategies for chemical matter optimization.
• Own product portfolio planning and prioritization across multiple high-impact initiatives.
• Represent product leadership across internal and external stakeholders.
• Drive product execution from concept to launch, leading cross-functional teams.
• Manage resource allocations and decisions against complex priorities.
• Define clear success metrics and communicate progress to executive leadership.
• MS, PhD, or equivalent in medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, chemical biology, or related field.
• 9+ years in product management or platform strategy in drug discovery, cheminformatics, AI/ML, or scientific software.
• 3+ years leading cross-functional or product teams.
• Deep understanding of small molecule discovery workflows (structure-based design, ligand-based modeling, hit finding, lead optimization, ADMET profiling, synthesis planning).
• Familiarity with ML tools for QSAR modeling, HTS triage, retrosynthesis, generative compound design, and libraries like RDKit, DeepChem, ASKCOS, or graph-based ML frameworks.
• Experience defining and executing TPPs for new drug discovery tools or scientific data platforms.
• Experience with strategic planning and portfolio management.
• Output-focused, able to influence, collaborative, comfortable with ambiguity, able to break down complex goals.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Good to Have

• Experience with automated/self-driving labs and experience working with machine learning in drug discovery or life science research.
• Following the rapid evolution of LLMs and other AI solutions and having thoughts and opinions on how this will impact the future of scientific discovery and product development.
• Background in partnering with biopharma or research organizations to define collaborative milestones and workflows.

Perks & Benefits

• Bonus potential
• Generous early equity

Your Impact at Lila

Lila Sciences is looking for a (Senior) Director of Product, Medicinal Chemistry, a strategic and visionary product leader who will shape the future of our therapeutic research and development capabilities. You will lead the strategy, roadmap, and execution for a portfolio of products and platforms at the intersection of drug discovery, life science research, and scientific intelligence. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role that requires exceptional leadership, cross-functional orchestration, and a deep understanding of scientific and technical domains.

What You'll Be Building

• Set and drive the long-term product vision and strategic roadmap for Lila’s chemistry and small molecule discovery and optimization capabilities, closely aligned with company-wide objectives and scientific priorities.
• Identify and shape product opportunities grounded in real-world discovery challenges, partnering closely with collaborators, customers, and strategic stakeholders to ensure relevance and downstream value.
• Define target product profiles (TPPs) and develop product strategies that enable intelligent, iterative optimization of chemical matter using Lila's SSI platform.
• Own product portfolio planning and prioritization across multiple high-impact initiatives and experiments, balancing long-term vision with near-term deliverables
• Represent product leadership across internal and external stakeholders, including executive leadership, partners, and the broader scientific community
• Drive product execution from concept to launch while leading cross-functional teams across science, machine learning, automation, and data engineering
• Manage resource allocations (budget, compute, lab access, people) and decisions against a complex set of priorities (e.g., focus of experiments between AI model training and near-term partnership requests)
• Define clear success metrics and milestones, and clearly communicate progress against them to the company, including executive leadership

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• MS, PhD, or equivalent experience in medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, chemical biology, or a related field with grounding in experimental or in silico small molecule research.
• 9+ years of experience in product management or platform strategy roles at the intersection of drug discovery, cheminformatics, AI/ML, or scientific software development
• 3+ years of experience leading and managing cross-functional or product teams, including responsibility for performance, alignment, and mentorship.
• Deep understanding of small molecule discovery workflows, including structure-based design, ligand-based modeling, hit finding, lead optimization, ADMET profiling, and synthesis planning.
• Familiarity with ML tools for QSAR modeling, HTS triage, retrosynthesis, and generative compound design, as well as common libraries such as RDKit, DeepChem, ASKCOS, or graph-based ML frameworks for chemistry.
• Experience defining and executing TPPs for new drug discovery tools, therapeutic products, or scientific data platforms
• Experience with strategic planning and portfolio management across extremely complex, multidisciplinary projects
• Relentlessly output-focused: driven by impact against our mission and program goals, not by doing tasks, owning decisions, or being in meetings
• Outstanding ability to influence across all levels of the organization and drive alignment among technical and executive stakeholders
• Highly collaborative and empathetic
• High degree of comfort with ambiguity and able to adapt to changing teams and needs
• Able to create small, achievable units of work from large, complex, and ambiguous goals
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying technical information to any audience with experience presenting to executive leadership and external partners

Bonus Points For

• Experience with automated/self-driving labs and experience working with (not necessarily having run) machine learning in drug discovery or life science research
• Following the rapid evolution of LLMs and other AI solutions and have thoughts and opinions on how this will impact the future of scientific discovery and product development
• Background in partnering with biopharma or research organizations to define collaborative milestones and workflows

Compensation

We expect the base salary for this role to fall between $184k–$294k USD per year, along with bonus potential and generous early equity. The final offer will reflect your unique background, expertise, and impact.

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.

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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.