Research Scientist, Primary Pharmacology

Recursion; Milton Park; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 71,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading TechBio company in Milton Park is seeking a Research Scientist in Primary Pharmacology to develop assays for drug discovery. You will work in state-of-the-art labs, leveraging your expertise in assay development and cross-functional collaboration. Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. in a relevant field and experience in high-throughput screening. Competitive salary range £52,000 to £70,400 plus bonuses and equity compensation.

Benefits

Annual bonus

Equity compensation

Comprehensive benefits package

Qualifications

• Proficiency in sterile techniques and cell culture.
• Hands-on experience with cell and plate-based assays.
• Experience in small molecule high-throughput screening.

Responsibilities

• Develop cell-based and biochemical assays for therapeutics.
• Implement latest scientific developments and evaluate new technologies.
• Collaborate with project teams to drive drug discovery programs.

Skills

Assay development

Cell culture

Cross-functional collaboration

High-throughput screening

Education

BSc/MSc/Ph.D. in Oncology, Biology, Pharmacology

Tools

FRET

Flow cytometry

Imaging

Job description

Overview

Research Scientist, Primary Pharmacology – Milton Park, England

Your work will change lives. Including your own.

The Impact You’ll Make

The Impact You’ll Make

Recursion is at the forefront of reimagining drug discovery and development through broadening the funnel of potential targets, using technology and standardization to build connected data. As a research scientist in the primary pharmacology department you will design, plan and execute a variety of experiments ensuring that the assays are fit-for-purpose, and that data is appropriately quality-controlled. In our new, state-of-the-art laboratories, you will utilize a wide array of assay technologies (FRET, luminescence, FACS, imaging) and automation capabilities. We are committed to deploying the latest advancements and optimising processes for quality and efficiency. You will leverage your scientific and cell-based expertise to design and implement experiments, driving our drug discovery projects forward.

Responsibilities

• Develop cell-based and biochemical assays to help drive development of small molecule therapeutics with a focus on compound characterisation and the rapid identification of candidate molecules.
• Implement latest scientific developments and evaluate new technologies.
• Collaborate with cross functional project teams to drive drug discovery programs forward by producing decision making data in timely manner
• Engage in continual learning and development, gaining exposure to multiple scientific disciplines and the drug discovery process, from initial target identification through to candidate selection

The Team You’ll Join

You will join the Primary Pharmacology team, and will be part of the value hub at Recursion. The Primary Pharmacology team is a group of project-facing biochemists and cell biology scientists that support drug discovery projects from target validation to candidate selection. Core functions within this team include assay development, HTS, routine screening, cell culture and automation.

The Experience You’ll Need

• BSc/MSc/Ph.D. in Oncology, Biology, Pharmacology, or related discipline; or equivalent experience, preferably in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.
• Proficiency in sterile techniques and cell culture.
• Expertise in in vitro assay development and optimisation
• Hands-on experience with cell and plate-based assays (e.g., proliferation, cell binding, target engagement, cytokine release, tumour killing)
• Practical knowledge of a wide range of assay technologies (e.g., FRET, flow cytometry, imaging)
• Experience in small molecule high-throughput screening, including dose-response relationship analysis
• Ability to work in a highly dynamic, fast-paced cross-functional environment

Working Location & Compensation

This is an on site, lab-based position at our Bell Labs site in Milton Park, UK. At Recursion, we believe that every employee should be compensated fairly. Based on the skill and level of experience required for this role, the estimated current annual base range for this role is £52,000 to £70,400 (GBP). You will also be eligible for an annual bonus and equity compensation, as well as a comprehensive benefits package.

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The Values We Hope You Share

• We act boldly with integrity. We are unconstrained in our thinking, take calculated risks, and push boundaries, but never at the expense of ethics, science, or trust.
• We care deeply and engage directly. Caring means holding a deep sense of responsibility and respect - showing up, speaking honestly, and taking action.
• We learn actively and adapt rapidly. Progress comes from doing. We experiment, test, and refine, embracing iteration over perfection.
• We move with urgency because patients are waiting. Speed isn’t about rushing but about moving the needle every day.
• We take ownership and accountability. Through ownership and accountability, we enable trust and autonomy—leaders take accountability for decisive action, and teams own outcomes together.
• We are One Recursion. True cross-functional collaboration is about trust, clarity, humility, and impact. Through sharing, we can be greater than the sum of our individual capabilities.

Our values underpin the employee experience at Recursion. They are the character and personality of the company demonstrated through how we communicate, support one another, spend our time, make decisions, and celebrate collectively.

More About Recursion

Recursion (NASDAQ: RXRX) is a clinical stage TechBio company leading the space by decoding biology to radically improve lives. Enabling its mission is the Recursion OS, a platform built across diverse technologies that continuously generate one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical datasets. Recursion leverages sophisticated machine-learning algorithms to distill from its dataset a collection of trillions of searchable relationships across biology and chemistry unconstrained by human bias. By commanding massive experimental scale — up to millions of wet lab experiments weekly — and massive computational scale — owning and operating one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, Recursion is uniting technology, biology and chemistry to advance the future of medicine.

Recursion is headquartered in Salt Lake City, where it is a founding member of BioHive, the Utah life sciences industry collective. Recursion also has offices in Toronto, Montréal, New York, London, Oxford area, and the San Francisco Bay area. Learn more at www.Recursion.com , or connect onX (formerly Twitter) andLinkedIn .

Recursion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, local, or provincial human rights legislation.

Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Equal Opportunity Employment Information (Recursion)

We are committed to a high-performing workplace where everyone feels like they belong and can do the best work of their careers. We reward merit and contribution as we strive for a workplace that reflects the communities in which we operate and the patients we intend to serve. To this end, we invite you to self-identify your race/ethnicity and gender. This information will be kept confidential and will not be used to favor or discriminate against any candidate. It will not be shared with the hiring managers or otherwise considered as part of your application. Submission of this information is voluntary and refusal to provide any or all of the information requested will not subject you to any adverse treatment.