Head of In Vitro Pharmacology — Exploratory Sciences

Isomorphic Labs; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Isomorphic Labs is seeking an accomplished in vitro pharmacology leader to build and guide a team of biologists within the Exploratory Sciences function. You will shape experimental pharmacology strategy across modalities, and align ML-enabled hypothesis generation with wet-lab validation to accelerate drug discovery.

You will mentor researchers, lead CRO studies, and collaborate with ML, engineering and chemistry teams to drive decision-quality data and robust platform capabilities.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent in Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Cell Biology or related discipline.
• Expert knowledge of in vitro pharmacology and biophysics and designing robust screening cascades.
• Hands-on experience with novel modalities (e.g. TPD, molecular glues, peptides, induced proximity).
• Proven leadership and CRO study management experience.
• Interest in LLM agentic workflows and data‑driven discovery.
• Strong collaboration and cross‑functional communication.

Responsibilities

• Set the in vitro pharmacology vision for exploratory programmes across modalities.
• Assess tractability of new modalities and set go/no-go criteria.
• Turn concepts into rigorous screening cascades for internal and partnered programmes.
• Design biochemical, biophysical and bespoke screening cascades for novel modalities.
• Develop quantitative assays for binding kinetics, degradation and functional readouts.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemistry and DMPK to drive SAR and de-risking.
• Set data quality standards so data are ML-ready from the start.
• Champion LLM agentic workflows to speed up hypothesis generation and data synthesis.
• Work with ML/engineering on Platform builds and model design.
• Test in silico hypotheses in the wet lab and plan to fill gaps in models.
• Provide biological input to guide generative design for new modalities.
• Lead a team of researchers and CRO leadership; manage CRO/academic studies.

Skills

In vitro pharmacology

Novel modalities

Leadership & CRO management

AI/ML workflows

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication across teams

Education

PhD or equivalent in Pharmacology/Biochemistry/Biophysics/Cell Biology

Tools

Lab automation

High-throughput data infra

Python

R

Job description

Isomorphic Labs is seeking an accomplished in vitro pharmacology leader to build and guide a team of biologists within the Exploratory Sciences function. You will shape experimental pharmacology strategy across modalities, and align ML-enabled hypothesis generation with wet-lab validation to accelerate drug discovery.

You will mentor researchers, lead CRO studies, and collaborate with ML, engineering and chemistry teams to drive decision-quality data and robust platform capabilities.