AIML Head of Biological Modeling Research

GlaxoSmithKline; London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A global biopharmaceutical company in London seeks a scientific leader to drive AI and drug discovery. The role entails fostering a collaborative culture, leading innovative research projects, and collaborating with academic partners. Candidates should have a PhD, significant leadership experience, and a strong publication record. This position offers a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact on healthcare.

Benefits

Open innovation culture

Access to advanced computational resources

Opportunity for professional development

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of post-PhD research experience.
• 8+ years in impactful research applying machine learning to biological systems.
• Experience leading research teams with direct line management.

Responsibilities

• Foster a collaborative and inclusive research culture.
• Drive scientific excellence and innovation within the team.
• Collaborate with partners in drug discovery.

Skills

Machine Learning

Team Leadership

AI Research

Data Analysis

Collaboration

Education

PhD in Computer Science or Machine Learning

Tools

Generative Models

High-throughput Systems

Job description

Reimagine Drug Discovery at GSK

At GSK, we are uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. We believe that the intersection of human genetics and genomics, translational biology, and artificial intelligence is the most promising path to a new generation of transformational medicines. We are not simply applying AI to drug discovery; we are fundamentally re-architecting the process from the ground up. This is an opportunity for a scientific leader to contribute to a world-class team at the nexus of bleeding edge AI and drug discovery, helping to translate computational innovation into cures for patients.

About the Team: The AI/ML Hub at King's Cross – A Unique Scientific Ecosystem

This role is based in our Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning group headquartered in the GSK.ai office in King's Cross, London. As part of a global AI/ML organization with a presence in London, San Francisco, Boston, and other major technology centers, you will be at the heart of GSK's AI mission.

Our £10 million King's Cross hub is more than an office; it is a strategic center of gravity for talent and innovation, situated in London's vibrant "Knowledge Quarter." This unique location was chosen to foster a culture of open science and deep collaboration. As a leader in this hub, you will work in a "porous" and dynamic environment, with unparalleled opportunities for partnership with the world's leading academic institutions.

Key Responsibilities

Team & Culture Development

• Foster a dynamic, collaborative, and inclusive research culture that prizes scientific rigor, open communication, creativity, and a shared sense of urgency to deliver impactful solutions for patients.
• Champion the professional growth and development of team members, providing expert guidance on their careers, technical challenges, and scientific direction, building the next generation of leaders at GSK and ceating a destination for top talent in the field.
• Drive scientific excellence and innovation within the team, fostering an environment that produces both high-impact publications in premier venues (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, Nature) and valuable intellectual property that secures GSK's competitive advantage.

Technical & Execution Excellence

• Research and contribute to new methods needed for sophisticated "lab-in-the-loop" systems, resulting in an efficient, high-throughput cycle between computational prediction, experimental validation, and targeted data generation.
• Work on the end-to-end lifecycle of new model and architecture development, from the curation of large-scale, multimodal datasets to model training, rigorous validation, and deployment into production R&D workflows.
• Help build out emerging capabilities in agentic AI workflows, designing and deploying intelligent systems to automate complex scientific discovery processes and hypothesis generation.

Cross-Functional & External Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with partners in the Research Technologies platform organization, developing new methods that are priorities for enabling GSK’s tech-enabled, drug discovery ambitions
• Drive deep, productive collaborations with GSK's world-class academic partners, to co-develop novel methodologies and accelerate discovery.
• Effectively communicate complex computational concepts, research progress, and strategic recommendations to diverse audiences

Basic Qualifications: Wha0t You'll Bring to the Role

• A PhD in Computer Science or Machine Learning
• A minimum of 10 years of post-PhD research experience in an industrial (pharmaceutical or biotechnology) or a leading academic research environment.
• 8 (+) years of conceiving, developing, and leading impactful research projects that apply machine learning to biological systems
• 5 (+) years in a leadership capacity, including direct line management of a research team and/or mentorship of junior scientists and students.

Preferred Qualifications: How You'll Stand Out

• An outstanding publication record with first-author or senior-author papers in top-tier machine learning conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR) and/or high-impact scientific journals (e.g., Nature, Science, Cell).
• Publicly visible contributions to the scientific community, such as the creation of influential open-source software (e.g., a widely used GitHub repository), development of foundational models, or curation of benchmark datasets.
• Deep, hands-on expertise with the theory and application of state-of-the-art generative models for relevant data types, such as diffusion models, flow-matching models, transformers, and equivariant graph neural networks.
• Significant experience building, leading, and growing high-performing, interdisciplinary research teams in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment.
• Domain expertise in drug discovery
• Familiarity with building and deploying agentic AI workflows and/or integrating machine learning models with automated laboratory systems for high-throughput discovery.

Why GSK? The Unparalleled Advantage

This is more than a leadership role; it is an opportunity to conduct research with fewer constraints than anywhere else in the industry. At GSK, you will find a unique convergence of assets that creates an unparalleled environment for scientific discovery. Our longstanding relationship with Cerebras Systems provides access to their wafer-scale CS-3 systems, giving you the capability to train models of a scale and complexity that are "previously unattainable" and intractable on any other hardware. This is your opportunity to explore novel architectures and push the boundaries of what is computationally possible.

From Code to Cure: This is not a purely academic exercise. At GSK, you will have a clear line of sight from foundational model development to transformative medicines. You will have the profound satisfaction of seeing your team's innovations make a tangible impact on the lives of patients worldwide.

How to Apply

If you are a pioneering scientific leader ready to help define the future of medicine at the intersection of AI and biology, we invite you to apply.

To learn more about our team's vision, our science, and our culture, please visit gsk.ai.

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organisation where people can thrive. We prevent and treat disease with vaccines, specialty and general medicines. We focus on the science of the immune system and the use of new platform and data technologies, investing in four core therapeutic areas (infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory/ immunology and oncology).

Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it’s also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a place where people feel inspired, encouraged and challenged to be the best they can be. A place where they can be themselves – feeling welcome, valued, and included. Where they can keep growing and look after their wellbeing. So, if you share our ambition, join us at this exciting moment in our journey to get Ahead Together.

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.

We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on [e-mail] or 0808 234 4391. The helpline is available from 8.30am to 12.00 noon Monday to Friday, during bank holidays these times and days may vary.

Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments, we will not be able to support you through these channels. However, we have created a UK Recruitment FAQ guide. Click the link and scroll to the Careers Section where you will find answers to multiple questions we receive

Important notice to Employment businesses/ Agencies

GSK does not accept referrals from employment businesses and/or employment agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site. All employment businesses/agencies are required to contact GSK's commercial and general procurement/human resources department to obtain prior written authorization before referring any candidates to GSK. The obtaining of prior written authorization is a condition precedent to any agreement (verbal or written) between the employment business/ agency and GSK. In the absence of such written authorization being obtained any actions undertaken by the employment business/agency shall be deemed to have been performed without the consent or contractual agreement of GSK. GSK shall therefore not be liable for any fees arising from such actions or any fees arising from any referrals by employment businesses/agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site.

Please note that if you are a US Licensed Healthcare Professional or Healthcare Professional as defined by the laws of the state issuing your license, GSK may be required to capture and report expenses GSK incurs, on your behalf, in the event you are afforded an interview for employment. This capture of applicable transfers of value is necessary to ensure GSK’s compliance to all federal and state US Transparency requirements. For more information, please visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/