Director, Medicinal Chemistry
Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, is a clinical-stage company developing orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists as a new class of medicines for the treatment of narcolepsy and potentially other sleep-wake disorders. Centessa’s lead investigational candidate – cleminorexton (formerly ORX750) – is being developed for narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia. Centessa's OX2R agonist portfolio includes additional clinical and preclinical-stage assets with potential utility across a broader range of neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric conditions.
Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Centessa was recognized as a Great Place to Work® in 2026.
Description of Role
We are seeking a Director, Medicinal Chemistry who will lead the medicinal chemistry component of a multi-disciplinary team within a CNS GPCR drug discovery program. This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for guiding a virtual, geographically distributed organization — including internal chemistry staff (some based at remote sites), a CRO-based synthetic chemistry team, consultants, and partners — through the identification and progression of small-molecule and ot
