Amgen Inc. Posted July 16, 2026

Principal Scientist - Medicinal Chemistry

South San Francisco, United States Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Principal

Amgen Inc. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Career Category

Scientific

Job Description

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients

At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission, to serve patients living with serious illnesses, drives all that we do.

Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas –Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease– we reach millions of patients each year. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives.

Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Principal Scientist - Medicinal Chemistry

What you will do

Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role you will part of an innovative Medicinal Chemistry group, with responsibilities including (but not limited to) the design, synthesis, and purification of novel compounds for potential clinical drug development. This will also include the opportunity to work within Amgen’s Induced Proximity Platform (IPP), which is focused on novel and innovative approaches to modulate intractable targets in diseases using the emerging PROTAC modality.

This is an onsite laboratory position at our South San Francisco site.

Responsibilities:

Devise and implement state of the art scientific research through conducting laboratory experiments, planning detailed procedures for defined projects including timelines, milestones, methodological approaches, expected results and necessary resources

Review, analyze, and interpret scientific data and results; providing regular updates, documentation, and/or communication on project results; collaborating with other scientists and keeping current with field of expertise, including literature and technology development.

Additional responsibilities may include advising supervisors and colleagues in areas of expertise; participating in national and international meetings, providing scientific results that support the generation of publications or patents, and mentoring research associates and laboratory assistants.

What we expect of you

We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. The qualified professional we seek is a Principal Scientist with these qualifications.

Basic Qualifications:

Doctorate degree and 2 years of scientific experience or

Master’s degree and 5 years of scientific experience or

Bachelor’s degree and 7 years of scientific experience

Preferred Qualifications:

Doctorate degree in chemistry specializing in organic chemistry and 6+ years of experience in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry

Experience leading medicinal chemistry teams and delivering candidates for clinical development

Extensive track record of consistent and successful drug discovery accomplishments (e.g. patent inventor-ship, conference presentations, and peer-reviewed publications)

Deep understanding of drug discovery and relevant drug discovery disciplines (e.g. chemistry, biology, safety, PKDM, etc.)

Expert in modern medicinal and synthetic chemistry approaches

Demonstrated experience managing direct reports

Excellent collaboration and communication skills (both written and oral)

What you can expect of us

As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, we’ll support your journey every step of the way.

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include:

A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan

Stock-based long-term incentives

Award-winning time-off plans

Flexible work models, including remote and hybrid work arrangements, where possible

Apply now and make a lasting impact with the Amgen team.

careers.amgen.com

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Application deadline

Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.

As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of diverse, ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Amgen will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. Salary Range

165,307.15USD -223,650.85 USD

Job details

Seniority
Principal
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
South San Francisco, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 193 comparable Principal Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 31 biopharma companies.

193Comparable roles tracked
172Currently active
31Companies hiring similar roles
12Countries represented

Salary context

65 of 193 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Peer group range $105,700 – $322,000 (median $165,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 193 comparable roles

United States158
India9
United Kingdom5
Canada4
China's Mainland3
China3

+ 6 more countries

Seniority mix

193 of 193 peers have a known seniority level

Senior111
Principal56
Director26

Therapeutic area mix

29 of 193 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology16
Immunology5
Cardiovascular / CVRM5
Neuroscience1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Respiratory1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
AstraZeneca Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie Cambridge, MA Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Principal Scientist Drug Product Development
AstraZeneca · Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Sr Scientist/Principal Scientist, Discovery Oncology (in vivo Biology)
Lilly · San Francisco, California, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Research Scientist I, Process Chemistry (Biocatalysis)
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Principal Scientist, Immunology Discovery
Merck · San Diego, California, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.