Head of Biologics Engineering

This role combines strategic portfolio leadership with hands‑on scientific direction, overseeing the progression of promising biologic concepts from early research through therapeutic candidate selection and preparation for clinical development. The successful individual will bring extensive experience in protein therapeutics, molecular engineering, and translational research, together with an appreciation of how artificial intelligence, computational modelling, and automated laboratory technologies can transform drug discovery.

A central priority will be to expand the organisation's capabilities beyond conventional antibody therapeutics, creating differentiated approaches to complex biological targets and challenging disease mechanisms. The role requires a leader who can identify promising scientific opportunities, deliver valuable development programmes, and build durable technology capabilities that support future innovation.

The successful candidate will also play a pivotal role in developing scientific talent, strengthening cross‑functional collaboration, and ensuring that technological investments translate into meaningful therapeutic opportunities for patients.

• Define a long‑term research strategy for emerging biologic medicines, including multispecific proteins, functionally engineered molecules, and other advanced therapeutic formats.
• Establish scientific priorities that balance innovation, therapeutic potential, development feasibility, and portfolio value.
• Develop an integrated technology roadmap covering molecular design, protein optimisation, translational research, product development considerations, and clinical relevance.
• Assess emerging scientific methods, external technologies, licensing prospects, and partnership opportunities that could strengthen internal capabilities.
• Represent the organisation in senior scientific discussions, strategic planning forums, governance reviews, and external research collaborations.

• Direct biologic discovery programmes from initial target assessment through molecule optimisation, development candidate selection, and investigational new drug (IND)-enabling activities.
• Apply evidence‑based decision frameworks to evaluate targets, therapeutic formats, candidate molecules, and competing research priorities.
• Coordinate scientific contributions across biology, protein engineering, translational medicine, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), safety, chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC), regulatory affairs, and clinical development.
• Ensure research programmes are supported by robust biological evidence, a clear therapeutic rationale, meaningful differentiation, and an acceptable development risk profile.
• Allocate resources effectively, identify emerging risks, and maintain delivery against critical scientific and portfolio milestones.
• Promote early consideration of clinical relevance, patient needs, safety, and manufacturing feasibility throughout discovery.

• Establish a scalable research capability for designing and optimising complex biologic molecules with differentiated therapeutic properties.
• Integrate protein engineering, structural analysis, computational modelling, and experimental screening to improve molecular performance.
• Develop design strategies that address potency, target selectivity, tissue distribution, conditional activation, stability, manufacturability, and therapeutic safety margins.
• Identify opportunities to create new therapeutic formats capable of addressing disease mechanisms that are difficult to target with…