Sr. Scientist II - Deciphera Pharmaceuticals

Deciphera, a member of ONO, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing important new medicines to improve the lives of people with cancer. We are leveraging our proprietary switch-control kinase inhibitor platform and deep expertise in kinase biology to develop a broad portfolio of innovative medicines.

Enabled by our proprietary drug discovery platform, Deciphera has developed a diverse pipeline of wholly-owned drug candidates. QINLOCK® (ripretinib) is Deciphera’s switch control inhibitor developed for the treatment of fourth-line GIST. QINLOCK is approved in Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.  We wholly own QINLOCK and all of our drug candidates with the exception of a development and commercialization out-license agreement for QINLOCK in Greater China. In addition to QINLOCK, we have identified and advanced multiple product candidates from our platform into clinical studies, including vimseltinib and DCC-3116.  

See here for more details on our portfolio.

We offer an outstanding culture and opportunity for personal and professional growth guided by our “PATHS” Core Values and how we work together. We are proud to be Great Place to Work Certified 2023 and rank #25 on Fortune’s Best Places to Work Small and Midsized Biotech Companies in 2023. Find more details about our award-winning culture here. 

The Role:

We are seeking a talented, collaborative, highly motivated and self-driven individual to join our Biological Sciences oncology drug discovery group.  This Senior Scientist II level role requires working closely with the wider multidiscplinary research team to discover new small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer.

The successful candidate will work independently, but also as an integral part of a larger team to achieve collective goals. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding in the fields of contemporary cancer biology, drug discovery and oncology and will apply this to challenging ongoing and new drug discovery programs.

This position will report to a Senior Principal Investigator, Biological Sciences, and work onsite at our research facility in Lawrence, Kansas.

What You’ll Do:

• Design and conduct rigorous experiments to identify and validate potential novel drug targets using state of the art approaches including multiomics based approaches
• Conceive, develop, and optimize biologically relevant assays, including biochemical and cellular assays, to determine the therapeutic potential of rationally designed targeted small molecules
• Work closely with the Senior Principal Investigator to explore and develop actionable biomarkers with potential for translational application.
• Work collaboratively with biologists, and medicinal chemists, to design studies and oversee their execution with external partners to advance drug discovery programs
• Guide and mentor junior scientists within and outside of the laboratory environment
• Document experimental design, data analyses and interpretation in an ELN and LIMS system
• Stay abreast of the latest scientific and technological advancements in the field
• Author technical reports and presentations to effectively communicate data and analyses
• Add to Deciphera culture of collaboration and shared mission to solve complex biological problems
• Adhere to corporate policies including safety and compliance

What You'll Bring: 

• A PhD in Cancer Biology, Molecular Biology, , Biochemistry or a related field with 5+ years of drug discovery experience at a biotechnology or pharmaceutical company.
• Experience of contemporary oncology drug discovery is highly preferred
• Technical skills required: laboratory experience with molecular and cell biology techniques
• The ability to think and work independently to design and execute on complex experiments
• Flexibility and capability to work on multiple research programs simultaneously
• Other: Computer skills with MS Office (Excel, Word, PPT) and scientific graphing software
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Strong track record of publications in peer reviewed journals and/or presentations at high caliber scientific conferences highly preferred  

Deciphera offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes but is not limited to the following:

• Non-accrual paid time off
• Summer vacation bonus
• Global, company-wide summer and winter shutdowns
• An annual lifestyle allowance
• Monthly cell phone stipend
• Internal rewards and recognition program
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Life and Supplemental life insurance for family
• Short and Long Term Disability insurance
• Health savings account with company contribution
• Flexible spending account for either health care and/or dependent care.
• Family planning benefit
• Generous parental leave
• [if applicable] Car allowance

Deciphera, a member of ONO, is a company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Our state-of-the-art research facility is located in Lawrence, Kansas and our European operations are run out of Switzerland.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY INFORMATION

Deciphera is committed to equal employment opportunity and values diversity. To ensure that we comply with reporting requirements and to learn more about how we can increase diversity in our candidate pool, we invite you to voluntarily provide demographic information in a confidential survey at the end of this application. Providing this information is optional. It will not be accessible or used in the hiring process, and has no effect on your opportunity for employment. This information will also be treated confidentially.  Our commitment to increasing diversity in our candidate pool does not affect our commitment to equal employment opportunity, including our ongoing commitment to make all hiring and other employment decisions solely on a nondiscriminatory basis.