Principal Scientist; Mechanistic Pharmacology

Salary: £50,400-£64,000 per annum depending on experience plus benefits (includes up to 12% pension contribution and income protection)

Reports to:

Group Leader – Mechanistic Pharmacology

Directorate:
Research & Innovation

Contract:

Permanent

Hours:

Full-time 35 hours per week (other flexible-working requests will also be considered if it meets business needs)

Location:

Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge (lab based with a minimum of 3 days per week on-site).

Closing date:
Tuesday 27th February 23:55pm

Recruitment process:
Initial screening call via MS Teams, followed by on-site F2F assessment for successful candidates.

We exist to beat cancer. We are looking for a talented scientific leader with significant experience in pre-clinical cellular pharmacology within an industrial drug discovery setting to join our Mechanistic Pharmacology group as a Principal Scientist. As the world’s biggest medical research charity, we’ve helped bring fourteen new cancer drugs to market. However, there is still an urgent need to bring more effective treatments to patients faster.

Cancer Research Horizons (CRH) is CRUK’s internal translation engine. CRUK’s established drug discovery teams operate under one organisation and leadership team. Our unique combination of cancer biology expertise and access to CRUK’s world-class academic network, coupled with cutting edge technology platforms and clinical expertise enables us to bring new treatments to patients faster and tackle the biggest challenges in discovering cancer drugs by seeking out more radical ideas and embracing risk in our bid to achieve success.

Based at sites in Cambridge, the CRUK Scotland Institute in Glasgow, and Newcastle University, Cancer Research Horizons employs ~180 staff from both industrial and academic backgrounds.

Our strategy sets out to bring deeper mechanistic understanding at the molecular and cellular level to all stages of projects, from idea to pre-clinical candidate. This role is focussed on designing, developing and running of cellular assays to identify, profile and characterise the SAR/SKR of small molecules therapeutics, as well as the bespoke characterisation of their mechanism of action to inform dose‑prediction and clinical efficacy.

As a Principal Scientist within the Cellular Pharmacology team, you will be a senior scientific leader, driving project strategy, influencing decision‑making, and helping to shape the future direction of the group. The successful candidate will champion innovative ways of working by staying at the forefront of advances in cellular pharmacology techniques and applying emerging techniques to drug discovery challenges. We actively encourage colleagues to share and celebrate our science through conference attendance, poster and oral presentations, and publications.

This role offers the opportunity to play an integral part in the Cancer Research Horizon Drug Discovery, working closely with industry and academic partners to progress novel cancer targets towards patient benefit. (Please check the additional job description located in the application form to view the full list of responsibilities).

We are looking for a strategic and collaborative scientific leader who can shape project direction, influence decision‑making, and drive high‑quality science. You will be passionate about developing others, fostering a culture of excellence, and delivering impactful outcomes in a fast‑paced drug discovery environment. You will also bring:

• A BSc, MSc or PhD in biological science;
• Relevant experience can be substituted for education;
• Significant experience in a drug discovery environment of…