Senior Drug Discovery Scientist

VIB; Vlaams-Brabant; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time contract

Social security & health care

International environment

Job summary

VIB Discovery Sciences in Leuven seeks an experienced drug discovery scientist to lead early-stage small-molecule programs and translate VIB's breakthroughs into therapeutic opportunities. You will guide a diverse portfolio across targets and therapeutic areas, coordinating cross-functional teams and external partners.

The role emphasizes computational approaches, including structural modelling and AI-driven methods, to complement experimental validation.

Qualifications

• PhD required in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences or related field.
• 5–10 years of relevant industry experience in small-molecule drug discovery.
• Experience with collaborative work across chemists and biologists.

Responsibilities

• Build and coordinate early-stage small-molecule discovery project teams, owning strategy and go/no-go decisions.
• Drive integration of computational methods into SAR analysis and program decisions.
• Serve as a consultant expert in discovery chemistry to the VIB community.

Skills

English fluency

Team collaboration

Project leadership

Education

PhD in Chemistry/Biochemistry/Pharmaceutical Sciences

Tools

Molecular modelling

Cheminformatics

Job description

Location: VIB Discovery Sciences, Gaston Geenslaan 1, Leuven

About VIB

VIB is a world-class life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium, with more than 2000 scientists across 4 universities. VIB has a long and successful history of translating scientific breakthroughs into impactful societal innovations and new innovative biotech companies.

The current position is within the VIB Discovery Sciences (VIB DS) team, a group of 20+ translational research scientists with a strong industry background. VIB DS focuses on the validation and translation of VIB's scientific breakthroughs into drug, biomarker and diagnostic discovery projects to support new venture creation and licensing opportunities as part of the VIB Innovation & Business team.

About The Role

VIB DS is seeking an experienced drug discovery scientist to lead early-stage discovery programs and help translate VIB's scientific breakthroughs into tangible therapeutic opportunities. The successful candidate will bring strong project leadership experience in small-molecule discovery and expertise to help guiding a diverse portfolio of programs spanning different target classes and therapeutic areas.

The role sits at the interface between science and valorization. The successful candidate will help shape discovery programs toward concrete value inflection points, supporting out-licensing opportunities, industry partnerships, and the creation of new biotech ventures emerging from VIB's research ecosystem.

A modern mindset toward drug discovery is essential. We expect the candidate to embrace and sensibly integrate computational approaches – including structural modelling, cheminformatics, and AI-driven methods – as part of the broader toolkit to enable program decisions, integrating computational predictions with rigorous experimental validation. Familiarity with experimental methods underpinning modern drug discovery will be valued. Collaboration is key at VIB DS, therefore the candidate needs to be able to cooperate fluently with VIB research groups and core units, computational and experimental scientists, as well as external consultants and CROs.

Key responsibilities

• Build and coordinate early-stage small-molecule discovery project teams, owning strategy, prioritization, and key go/no-go decisions – from hit finding to early lead optimization, towards valorization
• Drive the integration of computational methods into the analysis of Structure-Activity Relationships (SAR) and program decision-making
• Act as a consultant expert in discovery chemistry – assay design, hit matter analysis, hit expansion and hit-to-lead strategy, basic pharmacology – to the scientific community of VIB

Essential

• PhD in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field
• 5–10 years of relevant industry experience in small-molecule drug discovery
• Working knowledge on organic/medicinal chemistry
• Working knowledge on molecular modelling and predictive methods, ranging from empirical to machine learning approaches
• Experience in collaborating effectively with chemists and biologists
• Demonstrated track record of leading early hit finding and hit-to-lead programs, including coordination of cross-functional teams and external partners

Desirable

• Familiarity with experimental methods underpinning SME discovery, including biochemical and cell-based assays, high-throughput screening, biophysical techniques, and structural biology approaches
• Ability to critically interpret data from said methods and guide experimental strategy, in close partnership with assay development, structural biology, and screening specialists
• Prior exposure to translational activities — out-licensing, industry partnering, or new venture creation

Skills

• Hands-on, proactive and solution-driven
• Collaborative mindset with strong networking and interpersonal skills
• Meticulous, independent and self-motivated
• Proactive and eager to learn
• Fluency in English both spoken and written
• Sense of humor highly recommended

Our offer

• Candidates are offered a full-time, open-ended contract, working from our site in Leuven. Part-time working conditions may be negotiable
• Full social security, including pension scheme and health care program
• We provide a supportive, stimulating and international environment with a clear focus on drug development at the forefront of life science, in an awesome team
• Lifelong learning: access to VIB’s personal and professional development initiatives