Senior or Lead Scientist, Immunology, Translational Medicine

JR United Kingdom; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading biopharmaceutical company based in Milton Keynes is looking for a Senior or Lead Scientist specializing in Immunology and Translational Medicine. This role involves leading target validation initiatives and working across functional teams to advance novel therapies for immune disorders. The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in drug discovery and excellent project management skills. Attractive compensation packages and a collaborative environment are offered.

Benefits

Competitive compensation package

26 days annual leave plus public holidays

Employer contribution to pension

Private Medical Insurance

Health and wellbeing benefits

Income protection

Group Death in Service cover

Qualifications

• PhD with 2-3 years or BSc with 5 years in drug discovery.
• Experience in inflammatory or autoimmune therapeutic areas.
• Hands-on experience managing outsourced studies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute Target Identification and Validation initiatives.
• Oversee development of functional immunology assays.
• Ensure robust translational framework early in project lifecycle.

Skills

Drug discovery experience

Immunology expertise

Project leadership

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Education

PhD or BSc in relevant field

Tools

Flow cytometry

RNA expression analysis

MSD/ELISA

Job description

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Senior or Lead Scientist, Immunology, Translational Medicine, milton keynes

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Other

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Posted:

04.06.2025

Expiry Date:

19.07.2025

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Job Description:

CK Group are working in partnership with Nxera Pharma to recruit a Senior or Lead Scientist, Immunology, Translational Medicine, to join their Translational Biology Immunology and Metabolism group.

The ideal candidate will have immunology expertise in inflammatory or autoimmune disease, and expertise in planning and executing preclinical target validation and translational studies to support project deliverables.

Location:

Granta Park, Cambridge.

About the company:

Nxera Pharma (formerly Sosei Heptares) is a technology powered biopharma company, in pursuit of new speciality medicines to improve the lives of patients with unmet needs globally. Their pipeline is focused on addressing major unmet needs in some of the fastest-growing areas of medicine across CNS, GI and immunology, metabolic disorders and rare diseases, and leverages the power of their unique and industry leading GPCR-targeted structure-based drug discovery “NxWave” platform to provide a sustainable source of best- or first-in-class candidates.

In Cambridge UK, Nxera have built outstanding capabilities across their platform, discovery and translational medicine teams, to advance multiple programs from pre-clinical through to early clinical development.

About the role:

This is an exciting opportunity to work across diverse functional groups within Nxera Pharma and with external industrial and academic collaborators. The Translational Biology Team is a multidisciplinary team focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying human disease biology.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about advancing novel therapies, and biomarker strategies for the treatment of immune disorders.

Responsibilities will include:

• Leading, executing and driving new Target Identification and Validation initiatives.
• Ensuring a robust translational framework is embedded early in the project lifetime to drive clear decision making in the clinic.
• Oversee the development and optimisation of functional immunology assays and/or in vivo PD studies at CROs.
• Depending on experience, may act as the Project Translational lead.

Skills and Experience:

• PhD with 2-3 years drug discovery or development experience or BSc with at least 5 years drug discovery or development experience in inflammatory or autoimmune therapeutic areas.
• Extensive experience in the planning, analysis, and interpretation of in vitro and in vivo target validation and translational studies.
• Proven technical knowledge in interrogating complex immunological mechanisms using a range of in vitro and ex vivo immunological assays (e.g. isolated leukocyte subset functional assays, flow cytometry, RNA expression analysis, biochemical signalling, MSD/ELISA, imaging).
• Strong track record in human and rodent primary immune cell assay development and optimisation.
• Direct experience in the experimental design and oversight of in vivo studies and good understanding of Home Office legislation governing in vivo research.
• Proven ability to work effectively in a fast paced, multidisciplinary matrix team environment.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills and ability to thrive in team setting.
• Hands-on experience in managing outsourced studies with CROs or academic partners.
• Project leadership experience within a biotech or pharma setting, alternatively if coming from an academic background experience working in industry collaborations would be beneficial.
• Interest in metabolic disease or experience working in this area

What’s in it for you?

• State-of-the-art R&D centre located in the heart of the Cambridge science cluster.
• Competitive compensation package including discretionary cash bonuses.
• Eligible for grants of Restricted Stock Units.
• 26 days annual leave in addition to public holidays plus the option to purchase an additional 5 days each year.
• Employer contribution to pension.
• Private Medical Insurance for employees and family and a cash plan for dental and optical reimbursement.
• Health and wellbeing benefits including a subsidised individual gym membership.
• Income protection to cover long term absences due to ill health.
• Group Death in Service equal to 4x basic annual salary.

Apply:

Please quote job reference 123 438 in all correspondence.