Research Scientist, Life Sciences (Chemistry)

Location: Fully on-site in the San Francisco Bay Area, United States

Annual salary: $300,000–$320,000 USD

Company

Anthropic is a public benefit corporation developing reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.

What you will do

• Design multi-step synthetic routes for small molecules and oversee route selection, reaction optimization, purification, and characterization.
• Evaluate AI-designed molecules and AI-proposed synthetic routes through experimental readouts, then share results with research teams.
• Apply medicinal chemistry principles, including SAR analysis and physicochemical property optimization, to compound design and prioritization.
• Coordinate synthesis and biological evaluation with contract research organizations and academic partners.
• Maintain high-quality experimental records, including procedures, spectra, and failure modes.
• Communicate findings across chemistry, AI research, and life sciences groups.

Requirements

• PhD in chemistry.
• Demonstrated medicinal chemistry experience with SAR-driven design and small-molecule optimization, including recent sustained hands-on synthetic work.
• Ability to define problems in an ambiguous research environment and work independently with cross-functional teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work fully on-site in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Nice to have

• 5+ years of medicinal chemistry experience beyond the PhD.
• Experience advancing programs from hit identification through lead optimization.
• Experience directing synthetic chemistry activities at contract research organizations.
• Computational chemistry, cheminformatics, or coding skills such as Python with RDKit or pandas.
• Experience using AI or ML tools in the life sciences, plus publications or patents demonstrating scientific impact.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative research environment focused on large-scale AI and life sciences research.
• Frequent research discussions and cross-functional collaboration.
• Competitive compensation and benefits.
• Optional equity donation matching, generous vacation, and parental leave.
• Flexible working hours and an office designed for collaboration.
• Visa sponsorship is available, subject to role and candidate eligibility.