Associate Scientist, Organic Chemistry

About the Role

You’ll work closely with the founders and a small team from MIT, Harvard Medical School, Baker Lab, and Radical Numerics.

The pace and scope of the work create a substantial opportunity for growth. We are looking for speed and rigor, coupled with excitement and drive. In an early-stage environment, we value people who can bring clarity to open-ended problems, take ownership of the next steps, and follow through with energy.

We believe excellent performance and excellent output should be met with meaningful reward and ownership. At Capable, that means anyone who proves they can drive work forward can lead important programs, from senior scientists to junior scientists.

What You'll Do

• Execute and optimize small-molecule and peptide synthesis workflows, including route planning, reaction setup, workup, purification, analytical characterization, and sample preparation for biological testing.

• Design, run, and troubleshoot organic reactions across medicinal chemistry programs, including functional group transformations, coupling chemistry, protecting group strategies, late-stage diversification, and parallel synthesis.

• Run solid-phase and solution-phase synthesis workflows where useful, including resin-based chemistry, coupling/deprotection cycles, cleavage, crude analysis, purification, and final compound QC.

• Troubleshoot challenging chemistry issues, including low conversion, poor selectivity, side products, decomposition, incomplete deprotection, solubility issues, purification challenges, and instrument downtime.

• Purify and characterize compounds using analytical HPLC, prep HPLC, LC-MS, NMR, flash chromatography, SFC, and related methods; record identity, purity, yield, and batch-level QC data before handoff.

• Prepare compounds for in vitro and in vivo studies, maintain rigorous experimental records, and communicate synthesis results, issues, timelines, and risks clearly to the team.

• Support next-round compound design by contributing chemistry insight on synthetic feasibility, SAR, purity, yield, stability, solubility, and structure-property relationships.

Who You Are

• You have hands-on chemistry experience and strong experimental judgment. You may come from any educational background; what matters is your ability to learn quickly and maintain a high standard for results.

• You’re eager to own synthesis end-to-end: designing compounds, running reactions, purifying and characterizing them, and preparing them for testing with care and urgency.

• You enjoy solving problems creatively, iterate quickly, and uphold scientific rigor.

• You are interested in being close to the biological readout, understanding how compounds perform in vitro and in vivo, and leveraging potency and efficacy data to inform the next design cycle.

• You demonstrate high initiative. When an instrument fails, a synthesis doesn't proceed as planned, or a handoff requires clarification, you proactively take ownership, troubleshoot efficiently, and ensure resolution.

Pay & Benefits

• $90,000–$140,000 salary, plus equity options with an implied current value of approximately $50,000–$200,000 before exercise cost, taxes, dilution, and liquidity risk.

• Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience.

• We sponsor visas, if necessary.

• Wellness budget: $500 per month to spend on training, supplements, personal trainers, and everything you need to become your best self.

• Healthcare: We offer a range of comprehensive medical options, so you can choose the plan that best fits your needs.

Application Process

• Initial application

• First phone screen

• Second phone screen, approximately 30 minutes

• In-person work trial in San Francisco

Apply Today

Applying takes 5 minutes and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We're evaluating candidates on a rolling basis and want to make an offer quickly.

Compensation Range: $90K - $140K