Signal Pharmaceuticals, L Posted August 3, 2026

Scientific Associate Director

San Diego, United States Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Associate Director

Signal Pharmaceuticals, L is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Working with Us

Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us .

Summary

Experienced medicinal chemist who is seeking to lead and contribute to the drug discovery portfolio in the Protein Homeostasis Thematic Research Center in our San Diego Discovery Chemistry group.

 

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated individual with a strong background in medicinal chemistry to join our Global Discovery Chemistry, Therapeutic Discovery Sciences team in San Diego. The successful candidate will contribute and lead a team of scientists that engage in rational design of new agents for the potential treatment of diverse oncology indications. The individual will apply modern drug design principles to solve medicinal chemistry problems relevant to the Protein Homeostasis Thematic Research Center project portfolio in collaboration with a broad group of scientists.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end medicinal chemistry programs from discovery through IND, driving strategy, execution, and delivery of high-impact oncology assets

Design and advance novel compounds using state-of-the-art drug design approaches, integrating structural biology, ADME, and computational insights

Partner across multidisciplinary teams to accelerate decision-making, shape portfolio strategy, and deliver transformative therapeutics

Build, mentor, and lead high-performing scientific teams, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and scientific excellence within and outside direct reporting lines

Clearly articulate program strategy, data, opportunities, and risks to senior leadership and key stakeholders

As a member of the San Diego Chemistry Leadership team, drive the scientific, strategic, and operational direction of the San Diego medicinal chemistry organization, including portfolio prioritization, resource allocation, talent development, and representation in senior leadership decision-making

 

Basic qualifications

Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry with 8+ years pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry industrial experience

M.S. in synthetic organic chemistry with 10+ years pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry industrial experience

B.S. in synthetic organic chemistry with 12+ years pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry industrial experience

4+ years of program leadership experience in all drug discovery phases from program initiation to development candidate identification

Excellent communication skills, including the presentation of strategy, key data, issues and accomplishments to other members of the organization.

Experience in the field of protein degradation or induced proximity a plus

#LI-onsite

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Compensation Overview:

San Diego - CA - US: $201,590 - $244,275


The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience.

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:

Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.

Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).

Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.

​ Work-life benefits include:

Paid Time Off

US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)

Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays

Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.

All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

*Eligibility Disclosure: T he summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers

With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to [email protected] . Visit careers.bms.com/ eeo -accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information:  https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection .

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at [email protected] . Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley.

R1603693 : Scientific Associate Director

Job details

Seniority
Associate Director
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
San Diego, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 136 comparable Associate Director Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 28 biopharma companies.

136Comparable roles tracked
118Currently active
28Companies hiring similar roles
12Countries represented

Salary context

43 of 136 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Highest disclosed · Sr. Dir, Biology-Discovery · Merck $194,100/yr – $305,600/yr
Peer group range $105,700 – $249,850 (median $150,600)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 136 comparable roles

United States107
India8
Germany5
Canada5
United Kingdom3
Sweden2

+ 6 more countries

Seniority mix

136 of 136 peers have a known seniority level

Senior111
Associate Director20
Manager5

Therapeutic area mix

16 of 136 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology12
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Immunology1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Novartis Cambridge (USA), United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. Princeton, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. Princeton, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Associate Director, ADC platform in Oncology Drug Discovery
Novartis · Cambridge (USA), United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Director Translational Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Tarrytown, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Scientific Associate Director, Oncology Translational Research
Cambridge Discovery Hub · Cambridge Crossing, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Scientific Associate Director - Safety Pharmacology
Amgen Inc. · Thousand Oaks, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.