Hybrid Principal Scientist, Cheminformatics – Drug Discovery

Placements24; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Pension plan

Performance-based incentives

Conference attendance and training

Job summary

Our client, a leading pharmaceutical research organization in East London, seeks a Principal Scientist in Cheminformatics to drive computational drug discovery efforts. The role combines leadership, advanced modeling, and data-driven decision making within a hybrid work environment.

You will collaborate with medicinal chemists, biologists, and data scientists to build tools, databases, and models that accelerate lead optimization and project success.

Qualifications

• PhD in Cheminformatics or related quantitative field.
• 7+ years in cheminformatics with drug discovery focus.
• Proven ability to develop and apply cheminformatics tools and algorithms.
• Proficient in Python and cheminformatics libraries.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and application of cheminformatics tools for drug discovery.
• Design and manage large-scale chemical/biological databases.
• Develop predictive models for activity, ADMET, and synthetic feasibility.
• Apply similarity searching, clustering, and scaffold hopping for lead optimization.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists to design focused libraries.
• Analyze SAR and SPR to guide programs.
• Stay updated on advances in cheminformatics and computational chemistry.
• Mentor junior scientists and shape group strategy.
• Prepare reports, presentations, and publications.
• Ensure data integrity and promote best practices.

Skills

Python

Cheminformatics

RDKit

Open Babel

QSAR/QSPR modeling

SQL/NoSQL

Data visualization

Leadership

Education

PhD in Cheminformatics or related field

Tools

RDKit

Open Babel

Job description

Our client, a leading pharmaceutical research organization in East London, seeks a Principal Scientist in Cheminformatics to drive computational drug discovery efforts. The role combines leadership, advanced modeling, and data-driven decision making within a hybrid work environment.

You will collaborate with medicinal chemists, biologists, and data scientists to build tools, databases, and models that accelerate lead optimization and project success.