Job Posting

Senior Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Fujisawa, Kanagawa

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Job Type: Full Time
Job Level: Senior
Travel: Minimal (if any)

At Takeda, we strive to provide transformational opportunities for every member of our team, and we empower our people to take charge of their futures. In an environment that fosters lifelong learning and a growth mindset, you’ll have the support you need to thrive — at work and beyond.

Job ID R0149741 Date posted 04/15/2025 Location Fujisawa, Kanagawa

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Job Description

Objective / Purpose:

We are looking for a seasoned and visionary Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry to join our leadership team. This individual will play a pivotal role in shaping the future direction of our company by providing strategic guidance and oversight to our medicinal chemistry efforts, with a particular focus on oncology, neuroscience, and inflammation. The ideal candidate will drive our drug discovery initiatives forward, ensuring their successful progression and alignment with our company's overall goals and objectives. By leveraging their expertise, they will significantly influence our strategic decisions and contribute to the advancement of our scientific and commercial endeavors. Additionally, this person will oversee external programs at CROs, managing the design, execution, and progression of medicinal chemistry projects conducted exclusively at these organizations.

Accountabilities:

Create business development opportunities that meet the strategic scientific, therapeutic, and commercial needs of the organization or specific Therapeutic Area (TA).
Leadership and Strategy: Provide strategic leadership and oversight to the medicinal chemistry department, aligning with the company's overall goals and objectives.
Project Management: Oversee the design, execution, and management of medicinal chemistry projects conducted exclusively at CROs, ensuring timely progress and high-quality outcomes.
Team Development: Mentor and develop a team of internal chemists, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment.
Collaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including biology, pharmacology, and clinical development, to advance drug candidates from discovery through development.
Innovation: Drive innovation in medicinal chemistry through the integration of new technologies, methodologies, and best practices.
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all activities comply with relevant regulatory requirements and industry standards.
External Partnerships: Build and maintain relationships with external partners, including academic institutions, industry collaborators, and contract research organizations.

Education & Competencies (Technical and Behavioral):

Expected education amd experience: PhD degree in Chemistry, Medicial Chemistry or related discipline with 15+ years experience in small molecule projects.
Proven track record of leading successful drug discovery programs, prefferably in large pharma.
Leadership Skills: Strong leadership and managerial skills with experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
Technical Expertise: Deep understanding of medicinal chemistry principles, drug design, and optimization processes.
Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex scientific concepts to a broad audience.
Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a proactive and innovative approach to challenges.
Collaboration: Proven ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional team environment.
Adaptability: Ability to adapt to changing priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience: Experience in a leadership role within a large pharmaceutical or biotechnology company is highly desirable.
A proven track record of leading projects that are completely outsourced
Publications: A strong publication record in medicinal chemistry or related fields.
Patents: Experience with patent filings and intellectual property management.
Networking: Established network within the scientific and pharmaceutical community.

This position is currently classified as "hybrid" in accordance with Takeda's Hybrid and Remote Work policy

Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary:

Allowances: Commutation, Housing, Overtime Work etc.
Salary Increase: Annually, Bonus Payment: Twice a year
Working Hours: Headquarters (Osaka/ Tokyo) 9:00-17:30, Production Sites (Osaka/ Yamaguchi) 8:00-16:45, (Narita) 8:30-17:15, Research Site (Kanagawa) 9:00-17:45
Holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, National Holidays, May Day, Year-End Holidays etc. (approx. 123 days in a year)
Paid Leaves: Annual Paid Leave, Special Paid Leave, Sick Leave, Family Support Leave, Maternity Leave, Childcare Leave, Family Nursing Leave.
Flexible Work Styles: Flextime, Telework
Benefits: Social Insurance, Retirement and Corporate Pension, Employee Stock Ownership Program, etc.

Important Notice concerning working conditions:

It is possible the job scope may change at the company’s discretion.
It is possible the department and workplace may change at the company’s discretion.

Locations

Fujisawa, Japan

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time

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Where you fit in

Our team at Takeda is tackling some of the most challenging problems in drug discovery and development. As the newest member of our Research team, you’ll conduct purposeful, meaningful work on groundbreaking modalities that may lead to breakthrough drugs.

With our deep investment in next-generation technologies, you’ll have the resources and support to do your best work. As a part of our team, you’ll connect with brilliant minds inside and outside of Takeda. We are committed to collaborating with academia and emerging biotech companies to expand our reach and impact in cell therapy, gene therapy and data sciences.

Our team’s wide-ranging expertise includes medicinal chemistry, genomics datasets, immunofluorescence, high content imaging, flow cytometry, transcriptional profiling, multi-step synthesis, multimodal genetics, pharmacokinetics and much more. Whatever area inspires you, your work will support the progression of an innovative, industry-leading discovery pipeline and make an impact that matters to patients and society.

A career in Research at Takeda will give you everything you need to succeed professionally — and make a difference to patients, people and the planet.

Design and carry out experiments
Manage multiple projects
Document data
Mentor other scientists

Along with incredibly passionate colleagues, there’s a clear commitment to invest in the best facilities and the right equipment needed to successfully perform world-class science.

Christina Alves - Head of Biotherapeutics Process Development

Our pipeline

Our internal research capabilities and external partnerships contribute to an R&D engine that has produced exciting new molecular entities (NMEs) across our core Therapeutic Areas. Check out our pipeline and see how we’ll continue delivering a steady stream of next-generation therapies.

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Our belief in putting people first extends beyond our patients — it includes their families and communities, as well as our Takeda colleagues and their families.

We are committed to embracing our differences, valuing different perspectives, and fostering a culture of respect, inclusiveness and empowerment.

Our embedded Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) strategy enables us to attract and retain exceptional talent, drives innovation, and helps address systemic inequalities in our communities.

Integrity
Fairness
Honesty
Perseverance

Working at Takeda

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