Remote | Preclinical Drug Discovery & Development Scientist

Specialised Part-Time Consulting Opportunity

We are sharing a specialised part-time consulting opportunity for experienced preclinical R&D professionals with hands-on industry experience advancing drug programmes from discovery toward the clinic.

This role supports a research initiative focused on improving how advanced computational systems reason about real-world pharmaceutical R&D. Selected experts will review scientific materials and development data, evaluate model outputs, contribute practical judgement on drug-development decisions, and help define high-quality data structures grounded in authentic preclinical workflows.

Preclinical R&D Review

• Review technical materials and real-world scientific data from drug discovery and development workflows
• Evaluate whether analyses and conclusions reflect realistic preclinical R&D practice
• Identify missing assumptions, weak reasoning, and biologically or chemically implausible outputs
• Apply hands-on industry judgement to complex scientific scenarios
• Assess trade-offs across efficacy, safety, develop ability, and programme risk

Scientific Data Evaluation

• Label, classify, and annotate scientific data and model-generated outputs
• Identify meaningful experimental signals, development decisions, and failure modes
• Evaluate the quality and relevance of data used in downstream research workflows
• Help establish consistent standards for scientific annotation and review
• Translate practical R&D knowledge into structured, usable data

Drug Discovery & Lead Optimisation

• Apply experience across target selection, modality choice, hit-to-lead, and lead optimisation workflows
• Evaluate decisions involving potency, selectivity, pharmacology, PK/PD, and develop ability
• Review programme trade-offs and scientific risks
• Assess whether proposed optimisation strategies reflect realistic drug-development constraints
• Contribute expertise from programmes progressing toward IND-enabling development

Modality-Specific Development

• Apply hands-on experience with one or more therapeutic modalities, such as:
• Small molecules
• Monoclonal antibodies
• Peptides
• Antibody-drug conjugates
• Bispecifics
• mRNA
• siRNA and ASOs
• PROTACs and molecular glues
• Cell therapies
• Gene therapies
• Radioligand therapies
• Evaluate modality-specific scientific and development considerations
• Identify challenges related to delivery, stability, efficacy, safety, or manufacturability

Core R&D Functions

• Contribute expertise from areas such as:
• Discovery biology
• Medicinal chemistry
• Protein or antibody engineering
• Computational drug discovery
• In vivo and translational research
• Pharmacology and PK/PD
• Toxicology
• CMC and formulation
• Apply cross-functional judgement to development decisions
• Evaluate how findings from different disciplines affect programme progression

Dataset & Research Development

• Help define structure and quality standards for scientific data pipelines
• Identify which experimental signals and development decisions should be captured
• Surface workflow details that are often missed outside hands-on industry R&D
• Participate in expert discussions, interviews, and research engagements
• Provide practical perspective on how preclinical drug-development teams operate

Ideal Profile

• 5+ years of relevant pharmaceutical or biotechnology R&D experience, with flexibility for candidates demonstrating exceptional depth
• Hands-on, non-administrative preclinical R&D experience within a company developing its own therapeutic assets
• Experience at an organisation that has advanced internal drug programmes toward or into clinical development
• Current or recent work in a core R&D function such as discovery biology, medicinal chemistry, protein engineering, computational discovery, translational science, pharmacology, PK/PD, toxicology, or CMC
• Hands-on experience with at least one therapeutic modality
• Experience advancing a programme through lead optimisation, IND-enabling studies, or preclinical development is highly valued
• Experience with in mid-sized, emerging, or resource-constrained biotechnology environments is advantageous
• Seniority may range from experienced individual contributor through Director level
• Strong scientific judgement and ability to explain technical…