HEAD OF CHEMISTRY RESUME EXAMPLE

Published: Apr 22, 2025 - The Head of Chemistry oversees drug discovery efforts, including medicinal, synthetic, and computational chemistry from lead generation to candidate selection. This role drives strategic execution and manages project progression through key stages such as hit-to-lead, optimization, and preclinical evaluation. The Head ensures team leadership, fosters innovation, and identifies opportunities in emerging therapeutic approaches.

Tips for Head of Chemistry Skills and Responsibilities on a Resume

1. Head of Chemistry, ChemInnovate Solutions, Tucson, AZ

Job Summary: 

  • Lead a department in Medicinal Chemistry 
  • Support the projects conducted in the department
  • Provide novel lead structures via high-throughput screening, structure-based approaches and follow-up projects and new preclinical candidates after successful optimization of properties
  • Steer collaborations content-based as part of external innovation
  • Lead multi-disciplinary communities for building new technologies (e.g., new modalities, laboratory automation, etc.)
  • Set goals for coworkers, monitor working results, and assess performance
  • Coach and develop coworkers with suitable measures
  • Assume responsibility for following the safety concept, regulations, and compliance with all Bayer regulations, e.g., concerning IP aspects
  • Identify novel technology or scientific direction to build a flow of new companies
  • Lead and supervise collaborations and CROs


Skills on Resume: 

  • Department Leadership (Soft Skills)  
  • Project Support (Hard Skills)  
  • Lead Generation (Hard Skills)  
  • External Collaboration (Soft Skills)  
  • Technology Innovation (Hard Skills)  
  • Performance Management (Soft Skills)  
  • Staff Development (Soft Skills)  
  • Regulatory Compliance (Hard Skills)

2. Head of Chemistry, NexGen PharmaTech, Raleigh, NC

Job Summary: 

  • As a key member of the discovery leadership team (reporting directly to the VP, head of discovery)
  • Build and lead efforts to generate a toolbox of proprietary ligands designed to bind to an expanded family of E3 ligases
  • Drive strategy and lead all chemistry efforts (internal and external) towards identifying and characterizing selective ligands for tissue-selective E3 ligases to enable both internal pipeline and collaboration projects
  • Build and sustain an industry-leading E3 ligase-targeted ligand library
  • Work collaboratively across all functional areas to incorporate novel hit finding activities and structure-based drug design (SBDD) to identify E3 ligase binders with exquisite potency, selectivity, physicochemical, and DMPK properties.
  • Build a network of collaborators, CRO's, and KOLs to advance efforts to achieve these goals
  • Directly contribute to the strategy for bringing novel E3 ligase targets to the portfolio
  • Build out and lead the platform chemistry team
  • Manage relevant meetings and report accordingly
  • Communicate efforts internally and externally


Skills on Resume: 

  • Strategic Leadership (Soft Skills)  
  • Ligand Design (Hard Skills)  
  • Chemistry Management (Hard Skills)  
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration (Soft Skills)  
  • Drug Discovery (Hard Skills)  
  • Stakeholder Engagement (Soft Skills)  
  • Platform Development (Hard Skills)  
  • Scientific Communication (Soft Skills)

3. Head of Chemistry, BioSynthetics Group, Akron, OH

Job Summary: 

  • Provide inspirational and proactive leadership of Drug Discovery Chemistry (Medicinal Chemistry, Synthetic Chemistry and Computational Chemistry) from lead generation through to candidate selection
  • Responsible for creating and executing a chemistry strategy for drug discovery that ensures the delivery of high-quality clinical candidates
  • Provide expert functional input to create, advance and deliver a project from target idea to successful proof-of-concept clinical trial
  • Develop strong design solutions to medicinal chemistry challenges in drug discovery
  • Assess developments in the field beyond classical small molecules like e.g., oligonucleotide therapeutics and identify areas for future investment relevant for drug discovery in pain
  • Responsible for monitoring and optimizing the performance and motivation of internal and external providers to maximize output for the research programs
  • Lead and direct the chemistry part of small-molecule-based drug discovery projects
  • Manage the projects from HTS, target validation, hit-to-lead through lead optimization, candidate selection, and preclinical characterisation
  • Plan, design, and assess CMC characterisation studies
  • Build and develop a chemistry team, support the co-creation, operation and development of a new company


Skills on Resume: 

  • Drug Leadership (Soft Skills)  
  • Strategy Execution (Hard Skills)  
  • Project Delivery (Hard Skills)  
  • Design Solutions (Hard Skills)  
  • Future Investment (Soft Skills)  
  • Performance Optimization (Soft Skills)  
  • Drug Management (Hard Skills)  
  • Team Building (Soft Skills)