About the Company

MapLight Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotech company that focuses on drug discovery for central nervous system disorders. We combine cutting-edge technologies including optogenetics, in vivo physiology, and spatial transcriptomics to identify novel drug targets and develop effective therapies to address psychiatric symptoms.

Responsibilities

• Co-lead or lead preclinical medicinal chemistry programs from hit to candidate nomination
• Design and execute medicinal chemistry strategies to meet project and corporate goals
• Conduct multi-parameter optimization to deliver orally bioavailable, brain-penetrant candidates
• Apply structure-based drug design principles utilizing in-house and external computational resources
• Manage chemistry and tiered screening cascades at external contract research organizations (CROs)
• Coordinate with in-house drug discovery teams to ensure compound distribution