Fractional Head of Chemistry (Bioinorganic Therapeutics)

Recadence Bio is a pre-seed San Francisco Bay Area biotechnology startup building bioinorganic heterobifunctional conjugates designed to selectively inactivate targets associated with aging-related diseases. The founding team combines expertise in molecular biology, translational medicine, and early-stage company building.

The engagement is structured in two phases. Phase 1 is a scientific advisory arrangement requiring around 3 to 5 hours per month, focused on strategy alignment during investor preparation, compensated with equity. Phase 2 begins immediately upon closing a pre-seed round, transitioning to a fractional Head of Chemistry commitment averaging around 20 hours per week for approximately one year, covering active CRO management, IP generation, and synthetic programme delivery, with a pathway to a full-time executive role as the company scales.

• Direct the Design-Make-Test-Analyse (DMTA) cycle for novel heterobifunctional conjugates integrating homing moieties, linkers, and coordination ligands.
• Establish Structure-Activity and Structure-Property Relationships, driving multi-parameter optimisation for parenteral administration and mitigating metal-chelation and metabolic liabilities.
• Architect and oversee outsourced synthetic chemistry operations across premier global CROs, managing multi-step synthesis, metallation, bioconjugation, and advanced purification.
• Review analytical data including NMR, HRMS, LC-MS, and ICP-MS, and troubleshoot synthetic bottlenecks and purification challenges.
• Establish rigorous quality control standards for conjugate purity, identity, counter-ion control, and speciation stability.
• Partner with the CEO and patent counsel to evaluate Invention Disclosure Forms, strengthen Freedom to Operate positions, and represent chemical design authority in investor and partner meetings.

• Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a closely related discipline.
• Four or more years of industry experience working with metal-chelating small molecules or conjugates such as radiopharmaceuticals, bifunctional chelators, or metallodrugs.
• Strong practical understanding of metal chelation and coordination chemistry, including ligand field dynamics, complexation kinetics, and serum stability challenges.
• Proven track record managing synthetic chemistry CROs through complex multi-step organic syntheses and compound delivery programmes.
• Fully unencumbered IP status, with no restrictive assignments, non-competes, or institutional conflicts at the start of Phase 2.

Recadence Bio is a pre-seed biotechnology startup headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company is developing bioinorganic conjugates engineered to selectively inactivate disease targets implicated in aging-related conditions, with operations structured around a lean CRO-driven model ahead of its first funding round.