Senior Scientist

Northreach; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Northreach is seeking a Senior Scientist to lead antibody characterisation and develop strategies across discovery and preclinical programmes. You will design and implement assays (SPR,BIAcore, BLI, ELISA), interpret complex datasets and guide candidate selection for progression to the next development stage, with collaboration across internal teams and external CROs.

The role combines hands-on experiments with scientific leadership, mentoring junior scientists and shaping developability

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent industry experience in biochemistry/biophysics or related field.
• Strong industry experience in therapeutic monoclonal antibody discovery, characterisation or biologics development.
• Hands-on expertise in SPR/Biacore, BLI and/or ELISA including assay development and troubleshooting.
• Broad understanding of antibody binding, affinity, kinetics, specificity and developability.
• Experience interpreting characterisation data to support optimisation and candidate selection.
• Experience managing scientific workstreams and collaborating with CROs or external partners.
• Strong experimental design, data analysis and scientific communication skills.
• Proactive, collaborative approach with ownership of scientific activities.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and optimise antibody characterisation assays (SPR/Biacore, BLI, ELISA).
• Assess affinity, kinetics, specificity and functional characteristics to support candidate selection.
• Generate and interpret data, identify liabilities and recommend next steps.
• Lead scientific workstreams and coordinate activities across teams and external partners.
• Manage CRO relationships: review protocols, plans and reports.
• Collaborate with discovery and computational teams to support optimisation and development strategies.
• Troubleshoot challenges to ensure high-quality, reproducible results; communicate findings to stakeholders.

Skills

Antibody characterisation

SPR

Biacore

BLI

ELISA

Data analysis

Experimental design

Mentoring

External collaboration

Education

PhD in Biochemistry/Biophysics

Tools

HPLC

SEC

LC-MS

DSC

Job description

Senior Scientist – Antibody Characterisation

Northreach is partnering with a growing, well-funded UK biotechnology company seeking a Senior Scientist to support antibody characterisation, optimisation and candidate-selection activities across its discovery and preclinical development programmes.

This is a hands-on scientific role for someone with strong expertise in therapeutic monoclonal antibody characterisation, particularly binding assays and biophysical techniques such as SPR, BLI and ELISA.

Working closely with discovery scientists, computational teams and external CROs, you will take ownership of key scientific activities, interpret complex datasets and help determine which antibody candidates progress towards preclinical development.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop and optimise antibody characterisation assays, particularly SPR/Biacore, BLI and ELISA.
• Assess antibody affinity, binding kinetics, specificity and functional characteristics to support candidate selection.
• Generate and interpret experimental data, identifying potential scientific liabilities and recommending next steps.
• Lead scientific workstreams, coordinating experimental activities across internal teams and external partners.
• Manage CRO relationships, including reviewing study protocols, experimental plans, data packages and reports.
• Collaborate with discovery and computational teams to support antibody optimisation and development strategies.
• Troubleshoot technical challenges, ensuring high-quality, reproducible experimental results.Communicate scientific findings and recommendations to stakeholders, while providing technical guidance to junior scientists.

About You

• PhD, or equivalent industry experience, in biochemistry, biophysics, protein science or a related discipline.
• Strong industry experience in therapeutic monoclonal antibody discovery, characterisation or biologics development.
• Hands-on expertise in SPR/Biacore, BLI and/or ELISA, including assay development and troubleshooting.
• Broad understanding of antibody binding, affinity, kinetics, specificity and developability.
• Experience interpreting characterisation data to support antibody optimisation and candidate-selection decisions.
• Experience managing scientific workstreams and collaborating with CROs or external research partners.
• Strong experimental design, data analysis and scientific communication skills.
• A proactive, collaborative approach with the confidence to take ownership of scientific activities.
• Experience with antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), antibody engineering or next-generation therapeutic formats.
• Experience mentoring, supervising or managing junior scientists.
• Knowledge of additional analytical techniques such as HPLC, SEC, LC-MS or DSC.
• Experience with high-throughput antibody screening or antibody developability assessments.
• Experience supporting programmes from discovery into preclinical development.
• Previous experience within a small or growing biotechnology company.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to join an innovative biotechnology company developing next-generation antibody therapeutics.

You'll play an important role in shaping antibody characterisation strategies, supporting candidate-selection decisions and progressing promising molecules towards preclinical development.

The position offers a balance of hands-on science, project ownership and external collaboration, with the opportunity to grow your scientific leadership experience within an expanding biotechnology business.