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About the Role

Substrate is building autonomous wet labs for AI biology discovery. This role involves developing the strategy for a potential new chemistry vertical, exploring its feasibility, architecture, and market demand. The position offers flexibility, potentially evolving into a Chemistry Lead role or supporting existing verticals.

Responsibilities

• Develop the strategy for a chemistry vertical at Substrate.
• Determine the shape and feasibility of a chemistry vertical.
• Define the day-1 architecture for a chemistry vertical.
• Assess the make/buy/precursor decision tree for molecule synthesis.
• Define the day-1 assay portfolio for candidate molecules.
• Identify gaps in existing automated chemistry platforms.
• Analyze customer demand signals for chemistry services.
• Conduct customer conversations with foundation model labs and pharma R&D.
• Collaborate with co-founders on strategy development and recommendations.
• Potentially transition into a Chemistry Lead role or provide chemistry support to other verticals.

Requirements

• PhD in synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, or a closely adjacent discipline.
• A few years of post-PhD industrial experience in small molecule therapeutic candidate generation and characterization (pharma R&D, biotech, or CRO).
• Familiarity with the small molecule therapeutic assay landscape (binding, biophysical, ADMET, cell-based characterization).
• Knowledge of automated, flow, and high-throughput chemistry, and industry limitations.
• Ability to work autonomously and as a thought partner.
• Comfort with an open-ended scoping mandate and research-mode work.
• Strong assessment and value-proposition argumentation skills.
• Deep chemistry training and understanding of the chemistry-automation industry.
• Ability to engage in credible conversations with industry professionals.
• Comfort with a three-fork future for the role.

Skills

• Generative chemistry
• Chemistry automation
• Small molecule synthesis
• Assay development
• Workflow design
• Scientific computing
• AI/ML (nice to have)
• Computational chemistry (nice to have)

Location

• King's Cross, London

Work Type

• Hybrid
• In-person bias

Experience Level

• Principal Scientist
• Senior

Education Level

• PhD

Salary/Compensations

• Competitive compensation based on market, seniority, and role scope.
• Stock options with standard four-year vest and one-year cliff.

Benefits

• 30 days annual leave
• Learning budget for conferences, courses, and books
• Quarterly offsites

About the Company

• Substrate is building a network of autonomous wet labs for AI biology discovery.
• The company is spinning out of Automata, a UK lab automation company.
• Substrate is funded by venture capital and government grants.
• It is positioned as an autonomous lab platform, not a cloud lab or CRO.
• The team is growing and aims to reach approximately 32 people by the end of Q1 2027.

Equal Opportunity

• Substrate is an equal opportunity employer.
• Hiring decisions are based on merit, scope-fit, and the strength of the working relationship.
• Applications are welcome from candidates of any background.