Principal Scientist Discovery - Target Immunobiology Lead

argenx SE; Oost-Vlaanderen; On-site; EUR 100,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time position

Competitive salary package

Onsite 4 days per week

Access to diverse technologies

Job summary

argenx SE in Gent/Zwijnaarde seeks a Principal Scientist to oversee parts of the discovery pipeline, guiding multiple project teams, setting priorities, and addressing biology risks early in drug development. You will shape the longer-term scientific direction, evaluate new opportunities, and coach junior scientists to build the next generation of leaders within a non-hierarchical structure.

Onsite presence 4 days per week is expected as part of a dynamic, growing biotech environment with a

Qualifications

• PhD in immunology or related field with extensive post-PhD research.
• Strong leadership across multiple biotech projects.
• Excellent communication and scientific judgment.
• Deep knowledge of innate and adaptive immunity.

Responsibilities

• Oversee discovery biology as the scientific sparring partner for project teams.
• Guide go/no-go decisions and balance speed with rigor in data packages.
• Support Immunology Innovation Program reviews and external business opportunities.
• Develop future leaders and foster cross-functional collaboration.

Skills

Leadership

Project leadership

Immunology depth

Scientific communication

Education

PhD in immunology

Job description

Join us as we transform immunology and deliver medicines that help autoimmune patients get their lives back. argenx is preparing for multi-dimensional expansion to reach more patients through a rich pipeline of differentiated assets, led by VYVGART, our first-in-class neonatal Fc receptor blocker approved for the treatment of gMG, and with the potential to treat patients across dozens of severe autoimmune diseases. We are building a new kind of biotech company, one that maintains its roots as a science-based start-up and pushes our commitment to innovate across all corners of our business. We strive to inspire and grow our company, our partnerships, our science, and our people, because when we do, we deliver more for patients. We are currently looking for a Principal Scientist to join our R&D team in our facility in Gent/Zwijnaarde.

Work description

As Principal Scientist, you will hold scientific oversight of part of the argenx discovery pipeline, with a clear focus on the targeted disease and target biology. Rather than owning a single project, you will guide multiple project teams in shaping their workplans, setting priorities and taking well-founded decisions, ensuring that risks related to the targeted biology are identified early and addressed at the right moment in drug development. You will help shape the longer-term scientific direction of your area, contribute to the evaluation of new opportunities, and grow the next generation of scientific leaders.

Key responsibilities include:

Biology Leadership across the Pipeline

Oversee and support part of the discovery pipeline as the scientific sparring partner of project teams on disease and target biology. Co-create and challenge workplans, help set priorities, and ensure that biology-related risks (e.g., mechanism of action, target expression and function, pathway redundancy, safety liabilities and translatability to patients) are recognized and addressed at the right time in drug development.

Decision-Making & Prioritization

Guide project teams toward decision-enabling data packages and well-founded go/no-go decisions. Help balance speed with rigor, make trade-offs transparent, and bring in adjacent functions (e.g., Preclinical Product Development, Translational and Clinical Science, IP, Business Development) at the right moment.

Immunology Innovation Program & Business Development

Support the scientific review of new project proposals coming in through argenx’s Immunology Innovation Program as well as external business development opportunities. Assess the strength of the underlying biology and its fit with argenx’s portfolio, and formulate clear, science-based recommendations.

Scientific Direction

Contribute to the longer-term (3–5 year) scientific direction in your area by spotting emerging biology, capability gaps and new approaches that change what argenx is capable of, not only what it delivers in the short term.

Developing Future Leaders

Lead and develop scientists and their project teams in a non-hierarchical, non-matrix organization. Coach colleagues on scientific judgement, biological depth, priority setting and stakeholder management, and actively identify, sponsor and grow the next generation of (senior) scientists, empowering them to take ownership rather than taking it over.

Learning Transfer & Expert Network

Maximize learning transfer across projects and teams, connect project teams with essential internal stakeholders, and build a network of internal and external experts (key opinion leaders, academic groups, consortia) around the projects and the biology they target. Represent argenx in scientific forums and partnership discussions and bring those insights back inside.

Profile

• PhD in immunology or a closely related biomedical field, with at least 8 years of relevant research experience after your PhD, of which at least 6 years in project-based biotech or biopharmaceutical industry.
• Deep and broad immunological knowledge, spanning innate and adaptive immunity and the mechanisms of autoimmune and autoinflammatory disease, combined with a proven ability to go deep into novel biology fast and translate it into the right experimental and strategic questions.
• Solid understanding of the drug discovery and development process, and of how biology-driven choices made early impact later development.
• Track record of scientific leadership across multiple projects and of developing more junior colleagues, with a leadership style built on co-creation, empowerment and humility rather than hierarchy.
• Experience with therapeutic antibody discovery and engineering (e.g., Fab, Fc and format engineering, FcRn and FcγR biology) and with the evaluation of external opportunities is a plus; immunology depth remains essential.
• Recognized scientific credibility and excellent communication skills to challenge, influence and connect people constructively; fluent in English, our working language.

Offer

• A full-time position in a successful, dynamic, rapidly growing biotech company.
• A competitive salary package accompanied by comprehensive benefits.
• Joining a team that provides access to a wide range of technologies, engaging in diverse daily tasks, and encouraging initiative-taking to contribute to the company's success.
• Onsite presence 4 days per week is required to ensure effective team dynamics.

Application deadline is October 25, 2026

The annual base salary hiring range for this position is €100,000.00 - €137,500.00 EUR. This job is eligible to participate in our short-term and long-term incentives program. The hiring range displayed above is the range of possible base pay compensation that argenx believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting. The hiring range is based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range depends on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, internal equity, prior education and experience, job-related knowledge and demonstrated skills. argenx may pay more or less than the posted range and this range may be modified in the future.

At argenx, all applicants are welcomed in an inclusive environment. They will receive equal consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. argenx is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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argenx is a global immunology company dedicated to improving the lives of people suffering from severe autoimmune diseases. Through our rich pipeline of first-in-class therapies, led by VYVGART®, we are accelerating progress toward our bold 2030 vision: to reach 50,000 patients and transform the landscape of autoimmune treatment. Our innovation mission combines with meaningful work and endless opportunities for growth to create once-in-a-career experiences. argonauts work in locations around the globe including Belgium, Boston, Japan and Amsterdam. There's more to discover at argenx, where our passion inspires bold possibility.