Computational Synthetic Chemist

The posting, as Ginkgo Bioworks wrote it

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms.

Senior Engineer I, Computational Synthetic Chemist

Boston, Massachusetts

About Ginkgo Datapoints

Ginkgo Datapoints, a business unit within Ginkgo Bioworks, is ushering in the coming era of AI-backed biotechnology breakthroughs. By leveraging Ginkgo’s automation and digital infrastructure, Datapoints builds high-quality, large-scale datasets and technical capabilities that accelerate drug discovery and development.

The Small Molecules team is looking for a synthetic organic chemist to support computationally enabled synthetic chemistry. This role sits between the high-throughput and direct-to-biology core and the cheminformatics function, connecting route design, practical synthesis, reaction prediction, automated experimentation, and structured data capture.

Role Overview

We are hiring a Senior Engineer I, Synthetic Chemistry to design and execute multi-step syntheses of novel drug-like molecules, including singleton analogs and small focused sets that cannot be made in plate format.

You will own route selection, execution, purification, and characterization end to end. Computational route planning, retrosynthesis, condition prediction, and automated or high-throughput experimentation resources will be standard working tools—not occasional aids. You will consume model output, judge when it is useful, correct it when it is not, and feed outcomes back into the planning and prediction workflows.

The ideal candidate is an accomplished bench chemist who is also fluent in computer-aided synthesis planning (CASP), reaction-prediction tools, and reaction data. You will be the resident synthetic-chemistry judgment for this part of the design–make–test loop and will mentor junior chemists using the same tools. This is not a software or ML research position; it is a chemistry role for someone who wants to make computational workflows genuinely useful in practice.

Key Responsibilities

Multi-step synthesis and compound delivery

Design, select, and execute practical multi-step routes to novel drug-like singleton compounds and focused sets under real constraints on time, materials, building blocks, and available resources.

Apply a broad synthetic-organic chemistry toolkit and own purification and characterization through delivery of high-quality, well-characterized compounds on schedule.

Computationally enabled chemistry

Use computer-aided synthesis planning, retrosynthesis, and reaction-condition tools routinely; critically evaluate proposed routes and predictions and explain when they are implausible, impractical, or outside reliable coverage.

Use chemical structure and reaction representations and building-block catalogs
[…]
structure, and learn from the reaction data generated by autonomous laboratory systems.

Join a technically ambitious, cross-functional team building the computational foundations for AI-enabled drug discovery.

Receive competitive compensation, generous equity in a public company, and a robust benefits package.

The base salary range for this role is $115,000–$165,000. Actual pay within this range will depend on a candidate's skills, expertise, and experience. We also offer company stock awards, a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental & vision coverage, health spending accounts, voluntary benefits, leave of absence policies, 401(k) program with employer contribution, 8 paid holidays in addition to a full-week winter shutdown and unlimited Paid Time Off policy.

Ginkgo has implemented a return to office policy effective October 1, 2025 with required in office days 5x per week. This policy applies to all employees who live within 50 miles of Ginkgo’s offices in Boston, MA, Emeryville, CA and West Sacramento, CA.

It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees, employment applicants, and EOE disability/vet.

Privacy Notice

I understand that I am applying for employment with Ginkgo Bioworks and am being asked to provide information in connection with my application. I further understand that Ginkgo gathers this information through a third-party service provider and that Ginkgo may also use other service providers to assist in the application process. Ginkgo may share my information with such third-party service providers in connection with my application and for the start of employment. Ginkgo will treat my information in accordance with Ginkgo's Privacy Policy . By submitting this job application, I am acknowledging that I have reviewed and agree to Ginkgo's Privacy Policy as well as the privacy policies of the third-party service providers used by Ginkgo's associated with the application process.