Associate Principal Scientist / Principal Scientist – Computational Chemistry

Pharmaron; Hoddesdon; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible UK remote working environment

Global CRO/CDMO network

Access to AI-enabled technologies

Collaborative cross-disciplinary teams

Job summary

Pharmaron in the United Kingdom seeks an Associate Principal Scientist / Principal Scientist in Computational Chemistry to lead computational activities across drug discovery projects, from hit finding to lead optimisation, collaborating with medicinal chemistry, biology and DMPK teams.

You will apply cheminformatics, molecular modelling, AI-enabled design and develop new workflows within a flexible UK remote environment, mentoring others and contributing to client interactions and knowledge

Qualifications

• PhD required in a relevant computational chemistry field.
• Significant experience in computational drug discovery.
• Experience with structure-based design and data-driven approaches.
• Exposure to AI/ML in drug discovery desirable.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead computational chemistry activities across integrated drug discovery projects from hit finding through lead optimisation and candidate selection.
• Design, evaluate and prioritise compounds using molecular modelling, structure-based drug design, virtual screening and cheminformatics approaches.
• Apply modern computational methodologies including AI/ML, molecular modelling and data-driven design strategies to support project progression.
• Collaborate closely with medicinal chemistry, biology and DMPK colleagues to guide compound design and decision making.
• Act as a key scientific contributor within multidisciplinary project teams.
• Present scientific recommendations and project updates to colleagues, collaborators and client partners.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of new computational workflows, tools and scientific capabilities.
• Mentor junior team members and contribute to knowledge sharing across the computational sciences group.
• Support scientific proposals, publications, conference presentations and business development activities.

Skills

Computational Chemistry

Molecular Modelling

Cheminformatics

AI/ML in Drug Discovery

Cross-functional Collaboration

Mentoring/Leading

Education

PhD in Computational Chemistry / Molecular Modelling / Theoretical Chemistry

Job description

Associate Principal Scientist / Principal Scientist - Computational Chemistry (IDD)Location: Flexible UK remote working environment

Pharmaron is a global contract research and manufacturing organization (CRO/CDMO) helping pharma and biotech companies bring new therapies to life. With over 29,000 employees worldwide across 28 locations in the UK, US, China, and Singapore, we support drug discovery through to manufacturing with fully integrated high-quality services. We're proud of the impact we make and just last year, we supported 887 discovery projects, 1,100+ CMC programs, and 1,397 clinical trials across all phases. Our teams are involved in everything from small molecules, ADC's, biologics, and gene therapies and we work with more than 3,300 global customers. To learn more, visit www.pharmaron.com.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an Associate Principal Scientist / Principal Scientist in Computational Chemistry to join our growing Integrated Drug Discovery team. This role offers the opportunity to play a leading scientific role across a broad portfolio of client drug discovery programmes, applying modern computational approaches to support compound design and optimisation from hit identification through candidate selection. Depending on experience and level, you may lead computational activities across multiple projects, act as a subject matter expert within multidisciplinary project teams, contribute to client interactions and help drive the development of new computational capabilities across the organisation. Working closely with medicinal chemists, biologists, DMPK scientists and project leaders, you will apply computational chemistry, molecular modelling, cheminformatics and AI-enabled approaches to solve challenging drug discovery problems and deliver impactful scientific outcomes.

The Role

• Lead computational chemistry activities across integrated drug discovery projects from hit finding through lead optimisation and candidate selection.
• Design, evaluate and prioritise compounds using molecular modelling, structure-based drug design, virtual screening and cheminformatics approaches.
• Apply modern computational methodologies including AI/ML, molecular modelling and data-driven design strategies to support project progression.
• Collaborate closely with medicinal chemistry, biology and DMPK colleagues to guide compound design and decision making.
• Act as a key scientific contributor within multidisciplinary project teams.
• Present scientific recommendations and project updates to colleagues, collaborators and client partners.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of new computational workflows, tools and scientific capabilities.
• Mentor junior team members and contribute to knowledge sharing across the computational sciences group.
• Support scientific proposals, publications, conference presentations and business development activities.

About You

• PhD in Computational Chemistry, Molecular Modelling, Theoretical Chemistry or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in computational drug discovery within pharmaceutical, biotechnology or CRO environments.
• Strong track record supporting drug discovery programmes from hit identification through lead optimisation.
• Experience applying structure-based drug design, molecular modelling, cheminformatics and related computational approaches.
• Exposure to AI/ML methodologies within drug discovery is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of medicinal chemistry and multidisciplinary drug discovery.
• Experience working effectively within cross-functional project teams.
• Excellent communication and scientific presentation skills.

Key Skills

• Deep understanding of computational chemistry and its application within drug discovery.
• Strong knowledge of medicinal chemistry, biology and DMPK integration.
• Ability to apply computational approaches to guide compound design and optimisation.
• Experience interpreting complex scientific data and translating findings into actionable recommendations.
• Ability to manage multiple scientific priorities in a collaborative environment.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

Why Join Pharmaron?

• Work across a diverse portfolio of innovative drug discovery programmes.
• Apply cutting-edge computational chemistry, cheminformatics and AI-enabled technologies.
• Collaborate with world-class scientists across multiple disciplines.
• Flexible UK remote working environment.
• Opportunity to influence the progression of novel therapies from discovery towards the clinic.