Associate Director/Director Medicinal Chemistry in London

About Relation

Relation is a sector‑defining TechBio company developing transformational medicines, with technology at our core. Our ambition is to understand human biology in unprecedented ways, discovering therapies to treat some of life’s most devastating diseases. We leverage single‑cell multi‑omics from patient tissue, functional assays, and machine learning to drive disease understanding, from cause to cure. We are scaling rapidly and building a team of exceptional individuals to push the boundaries of drug discovery. You will work in highly interdisciplinary teams where biology, computation, and engineering come together to solve complex problems that have not been solved before. Our state‑of‑the‑art wet and dry labs in the heart of London are designed to accelerate this integration and translate insight into impact. We are committed to building diverse and inclusive teams.

The opportunity

We are offering an outstanding opportunity for an experienced Associate Director/Director of Medicinal Chemistry to help drive our growing small molecule portfolio. We are looking for a drug discovery scientist with hands‑on experience shaping medicinal chemistry strategy and advancing programmes into clinical development. In this role, you will translate cutting‑edge biological insights into high‑quality clinical candidates, working at the intersection of science and technology within a rapidly growing TechBio company. You will serve as a senior scientific leader across the organisation – influencing project and portfolio decisions, guiding discovery strategy, and partnering closely with colleagues across Discovery and beyond to build world‑class drug discovery capabilities.

Day to day

• Lead medicinal chemistry strategy across discovery programmes, applying deep expertise in small‑molecule drug discovery to drive scientific and portfolio impact.
• Lead medicinal chemistry activities from hit identification through to development candidate selection, using modern discovery approaches, synthetic organic chemistry and data‑driven decision making to achieve key milestones and value inflection points.
• Design and optimise novel chemical matter using structure‑based design and multiparameter optimisation to deliver high‑quality molecules with balanced potency, selectivity and developability.
• Partner closely with cross‑functional colleagues across biology, machine learning, translational sciences, toxicology, DMPK and related disciplines to solve complex scientific challenges and accelerate programme delivery.
• Lead and manage external collaborations and CRO partnerships, ensuring effective execution, clear prioritisation and delivery against timelines, budgets and project goals.
• Represent medicinal chemistry in project teams, governance forums and portfolio reviews, communicating scientific strategy, progress, opportunities and risks clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Contribute to the growth and evolution of Relation’s discovery capabilities by introducing new scientific approaches, maintaining awareness of advances in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery and driving continuous improvement.
• Champion Relation’s collaborative, ambitious and science‑driven culture, mentoring colleagues and helping to build an exceptional drug discovery organisation.

Professional qualifications

• A PhD in medicinal chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, or a related scientific discipline or equivalent experience in industrial drug discovery.
• Significant experience leading medicinal chemistry programmes within biotech, pharmaceutical or CRO environments.
• Demonstrated success progressing drug discovery programmes through lead optimisation to development candidate selection, with clear impact on project strategy and delivery.
• Deep expertise in modern medicinal chemistry approaches, including structure‑based drug design, multiparameter optimisation, and the application of computational and data‑driven methods to molecule design.
• Experience building and managing productive collaborations with CROs and external partners to deliver high‑quality scientific outcomes.
• Strong record of scientific achievement and innovation, evidenced through publications, patents, presentations and progression of molecules into development.
• Passion for small‑molecule drug discovery, with curiosity for emerging technologies and enthusiasm for integrating computational approaches with experimental science.
• Excellent communication, influencing and interpersonal skills, with the ability to thrive in a collaborative, cross‑functional, matrixed environment.
• Highly motivated, scientifically rigorous, and comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, evolving biotech setting.

Bonus experience

• Working with modalities such as peptides, ADCs, oligonucleotides or targeted delivery approaches.

Your personal attributes

• Comfortable working in a matrixed environment, balancing multiple stakeholders and contributing effectively across teams.
• Take ownership of work, proactively seek opportunities to contribute, and enable others to do their best work.
• Communicate openly and directly, give and receive feedback constructively, and handle challenging conversations with respect.
• Actively seek out diverse perspectives, build strong working relationships, and contribute to shared goals across teams.
• Embrace challenges with openness and resilience, set high standards for yourself, and strive to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Working style & culture

At Relation, we operate in a matrixed, interdisciplinary environment where impact is driven through collaboration across scientific, technical, and operational domains. We collaborate, and you will partner with colleagues across multiple teams and projects, contributing your expertise while aligning to shared company priorities.

Equal opportunity statement

Relation is a committed equal opportunities employer.