Senior Principal Scientist; Project Enablement

Senior Principal Scientist (Project Enablement) under the leadership of Agnes Martin

£58,400 - £76,000 plus benefits (includes up to 12% pension contribution and income protection)

Reports to: Associate Director, Mechanistic Pharmacology

Directorate: Directorate

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week (4 day week would be considered)

Location: Cambridge, Babraham Research Campus (minimum 3 days on site)

Closing date: 25 January :55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. Please let us know if there is anything or as soon as  particular if there are any changes or adjustments that would make it easier for you to apply. Please contact or as soon as possible.

Visa sponsorship: Cancer Research UK can consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If this applies to you, please ensure that this is clearly marked on your application.

Recruitment process: 1st stage Teams technical and competency based itnerview, 2nd stage in person interview including pre prepared presentation

Interview date:
We will be booking in 1st stage interviews on an ongoing basis, 2nd stage in planned for 10/11 February

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are looking for a passionate and dedicated scientific professional with extensive experience in pre-clinical drug discovery in an industrial setting.

As the world's biggest medical research charity, we've helped bring eleven new cancer drugs to market. However, there is still an urgent need to bring more effective treatments to patients faster.

We have recently developed a new approach to driving therapeutic innovation through the creation of Cancer Research Horizons (CRH). We have brought together Cancer Research UK's established drug discovery teams under one organisation and leadership team, combining our unique pipeline of cancer biology expertise and access to CRUK's world-class academic network, cutting edge technology platforms and clinical expertise to
1) bring new treatments to patients faster and
2) 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 200 staff from both industrial and academic backgrounds

What will I be doing?

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.

In this role, you will define the vision and strategy for CRH early project enablement, establishing robust processes to select and advance promising targets into the drug discovery portfolio. You will lead and develop a matrixed team, guiding them to deliver clear go/nogo decisions through deep expertise in target feasibility and druggability.

You will work closely with the Portfolio Generation team to build a sustainable pipeline, evaluating risks, shaping mitigation strategies, and ensuring projects progress efficiently toward clinical development. In addition, you will provide leadership within the broader CRH TI organisation, shaping strategic direction and driving scientific and technical innovation, including championing new modalities.

Key accountabilities include:

• Provide deep expertise in assessing target feasibility, including, but not limited to, reagent generation, mechanistic characterisation, ligandability, druggability.
• Work at the intersection between portfolio generation, molecular sciences, chemistry and biosciences to define and prosecute strategies that deliver clear, early go / no-go decisions across a range of challenging target classes.
• Provide Scientific and Strategic leadership for the assessment of novel targets and mechanisms, to drive innovation and portfolio success.
• Communicate effectively, to influence multiple stakeholders and collaborate across projects and sites.
• Promote scientific excellence, through external publication, presentations, and membership of conference committees…