Scientist I/II, Organic Chemistry

Lila Sciences•Cambridge, MA

16h•$108,000 - $170,000

About The Position

The Scientist I/II, Organic Chemistry will develop, execute, and optimize modern chemical transformations that support Discovery Chemistry efforts across Lila’s platform, with a focus on the rapid synthesis of small molecules and structurally diverse chemical matter. This role is intended for an experimental organic chemist who combines strong foundations in synthetic chemistry with hands-on experience in high-throughput experimentation (HTE), reaction workup, and analytical characterization. Working closely with Discovery Chemistry, analytical chemistry, automation, screening, and AI/computational teams, this scientist will help build and apply efficient chemistry workflows that accelerate molecular design–make–test–analyze cycles. The Scientist II will contribute to reaction development, analog generation, and route execution using modern organic chemistry approaches that are compatible with scalable, data-rich, and increasingly automated discovery environments. This role is ideal for a chemist excited by solving synthetic problems at the interface of reaction innovation, high-throughput experimentation, process efficiency, and analytical insight, and who is motivated to help shape next-generation discovery workflows beyond traditional bench chemistry.

Requirements

PhD in Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a closely related discipline with relevant postdoctoral and/or industry experience.
Strong expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, including design and execution of multi-step synthesis and development of chemical transformations relevant to small molecule discovery.
Hands-on experience with HTE for reaction screening, optimization, or scope evaluation.
Experience with reaction workup, sample preparation, purification, and analytical characterization in fast-paced synthetic workflows.
Strong working knowledge of analytical methods commonly used to support organic synthesis.
Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot challenging reactions and independently solve synthetic and experimental problems.
Strong understanding of how reaction design, execution, workup, and analysis fit together in efficient discovery workflows.
Ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary environments spanning chemistry, analytics, automation, and computational sciences.
Strong organizational, documentation, and communication skills, with commitment to scientific rigor and reproducibility.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting Discovery Chemistry or medicinal chemistry programs in biotech, pharma, or advanced research environments.
Familiarity with modern reaction classes relevant to small molecule discovery, including coupling chemistry, heterocycle synthesis, late-stage functionalization, and rapid analog generation.
Experience with parallel synthesis or robotics-enabled chemistry workflows.
Exposure to data-rich, AI-enabled, or platform-based R&D environments.
Collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for building modern chemistry capabilities that go beyond traditional bench-scale synthesis.

Responsibilities

Design, execute, and optimize chemical transformations relevant to Discovery Chemistry programs, with emphasis on the rapid synthesis of small molecules and analog series.
Apply modern synthetic organic chemistry to enable efficient exploration of structurally diverse and medicinally relevant chemical space.
Plan and perform multi-step synthesis, reaction optimization, workup, purification, and compound characterization in support of molecular discovery campaigns.
Design and execute HTE workflows for reaction screening, condition optimization, reagent evaluation, and rapid assessment of transformation scope.
Develop robust approaches for reaction setup, reaction workup, sample preparation, and analytical readout to support fast and information-rich experimentation.
Use analytical tools such as chromatography, NMR, and related methods to assess reaction performance, characterize products, and guide synthetic decisions.
Contribute to the development of practical and scalable chemistry workflows that integrate reaction discovery, reaction optimization, and downstream compound generation.
Partner closely with Discovery Chemistry scientists to translate molecular design concepts into executable synthetic strategies and experimentally tractable reaction plans.
Collaborate with analytical chemistry and automation teams to build workflows that connect reaction execution with streamlined workup, purification, and data generation.
Support the adaptation of synthetic workflows to parallel, automated, or robotics-enabled platforms where appropriate.
Interpret reaction and analytical data rigorously, identify bottlenecks, and propose solutions to improve efficiency, robustness, and reproducibility.