Assistant Director SPVR

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is seeking an Assistant Director SPVR for the Office of Research. The Office for Research's mission is to support the research, scholarship, and creative endeavors of all Rutgers faculty. The Office accomplishes its mission by convening with academic and research leaders, providing integrated, user-focused resources, services, and tools, and partnering with faculty.

Among the key duties of this position are the following:

• Drives the design, synthesis, and optimization of small molecules as molecular probes and targeted therapeutics.
• Spearheads Modern Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD) and Fragment-Based Drug Discovery (FBDD).
• Leverages the university's significant technological investments—including the Amarel computing cluster (CPU and GPU cores)—to operate advanced computer-assisted drug discovery (CADD) platforms such as Schrödinger and BioSolveIT.
• Integrates AI docking, property calculations and selectivity predictions to rapidly advance major funded drug discovery programs.
• Secures federal, state, and foundational research funding (e.g., NIH, NJHF, CSIT).
• Performs as a collaborative scientific partner, often serving as co-Principal Investigator or co-Investigator—for both internal Rutgers faculty and external industrial/biotech researchers.
• Generates critical preliminary data, interpreting complex structure-activity relationships (SAR), and directly co-authoring high-impact scientific publications and research proposals.
• Provides vital intellectual contributions toward patent applications, IP strategy, and the development of biotech spin-off companies.
• Supervises and mentors Research Specialists.
• Oversees external contract research organizations (CROs).
• Leads cross-functional research subgroups to seamlessly translate virtual molecular concepts into tangible clinical realities to ensure the successful execution of these complex deliverables.

Minimum Education and Experience:

M.Sc. with 5 years of pharmaceutical experiences in drug discovery and a proficiency in small molecule synthesis skills and data analysis.

City:

Piscataway

State:

NJ

Equipment Utilized:

Schrodinger or MOE suite, advance NMR (multinuclear 1D and 2D, Bruker/Varian).

LC-MS, HPLC automated purifications (Flash, preparative HPLC), Microwave reactor, Parr Hydrogenation

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

Laboratory environment.

Need to wear Personal Protection Equipment (PPE: gloves, masks, gowns, etc.) which might be restrictive.

Working in a fume hood which requires standing or adapted chair.

Will be working with bioactive, toxic, volatile, and caustic chemicals.