Translational Scientist (Pre-clinical)

Uncommon; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A pioneering biotech company in Cambridge is seeking a highly skilled Senior Scientist to lead preclinical studies and advance their nucleic acid therapeutics pipeline. The role involves designing experiments, validating biomarkers, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Candidates should have 2-5 years of experience in a related field. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits, including share options and flexible working hours.

Benefits

Share options

28 days annual leave

Enhanced parental leave pay

Cycle-to-work scheme

Flexible hours

Regular team dinners

Snacks and drinks

Qualifications

• 2-5+ years of hands-on experience in preclinical and in vivo studies.
• Demonstrated experience designing studies with multiple routes of administration.
• Familiarity with regulatory documentation requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design and oversee preclinical studies for RNA-based therapies.
• Evaluate delivery systems in preclinical models.
• Collaborate with regulatory teams for studies.

Skills

Preclinical studies

Experimental design

Drug metabolism

Biomarker identification

Job description

Overview

Uncommon Bio began with cell-based meat and pioneered RNA delivery innovations, which evolved into their most recent spin out focusing on changing medicine through multi-targeting. Their polysaccharide-based delivery platform enables multi-pathway cell programming, offering a safe, efficient and scalable alternative to multi-target therapies. The company is initially targeting severe lung diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and is backed by industry leaders from BioNTech and top investors, including Sam Altman, Balderton, Lowercarbon, and Redalpine.

The role

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Scientist with strong expertise in preclinical and in vivo studies to join our dynamic R&D team. This role is central to optimising our translational strategy and advancing our nucleic acid therapeutics pipeline towards IND-enabling studies.

In this position, you will lead the design, execution, and oversight of preclinical studies, in partnership with CROs and internal teams, to evaluate safety, efficacy, biodistribution, and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) of our RNA-based therapies. You will play a critical role in selecting relevant models, identifying biomarkers, and ensuring alignment between the discovery and development stages. This is a hands-on and strategic role with the opportunity to make a direct impact on the advancement of our therapeutic platform.

Key responsibilities

• Design and oversee preclinical studies, in partnership with CROs and internal teams, to support safety, efficacy, biodistribution, PK/PD, and disease model validation of RNA-based therapies.
• Evaluate and optimise delivery systems in preclinical models to inform dosing and routes of administration strategies.
• Identify and validate translational biomarkers for uptake, payload activity, and on-/off-target effects of nucleic acid-based therapeutics.
• Ensure appropriate experimental design, including model selection and biomarker identification, to generate robust and translatable data.
• Collaborate closely with R&D and regulatory teams to ensure seamless transition from discovery to IND-enabling studies.
• Contribute to regulatory filings by providing translational science insights and supporting documentation.
• Maintain clear and thorough records of experimental design and results, and prepare high-quality reports and presentations for both scientific and non-scientific stakeholders.
• Stay current with advancements in translational science, emerging technologies, and relevant therapeutic areas, particularly in pulmonary and nucleic acid therapeutics.

Required skills

• 2–5+ years of hands-on experience in preclinical and in vivo studies, in a CRO, biotech, pharmaceutical, or academic setting.
• Demonstrated experience designing and conducting studies with multiple routes of administration.
• Proven track record in experimental design, including model selection and biomarker identification.
• Strong understanding of drug metabolism and disposition (DMPK), safety and toxicology, and biodistribution studies.
• Familiarity with regulatory documentation requirements (e.g. IND submissions).
• Hands-on experience working in vivo, with a strong understanding of the drug development process from discovery through IND-enabling.

Nice to have

• Expertise in pulmonary administration techniques (e.g. intranasal, intratracheal, nebulisation) and pulmonary disease models.
• Experience working with delivery platforms in vivo (e.g., LNPs, viral vectors, polymeric nanoparticles).
• Experience managing CRO collaborations.
• Experience with non-rodent preclinical models.
• Experience contributing to regulatory filings and tech transfer to clinical development.

If you\'re passionate about the intersection of chemistry, delivery science, and molecular therapeutics and are excited to work in a fast-paced, innovation-driven environment — we’d love to hear from you.

Reward

Alongside a competitive base salary, all our people get these benefits:

• Share options
• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• Enhanced parental leave pay
• Cycle-to-work scheme and wellbeing allowance
• Flexible hours
• Make your work life easier annual stipend
• Regular team dinners and social activities
• Snacks, fruits, tea, coffee and more!

Uncommon recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, disability, age, and other protected status as required by applicable law. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents assigned to this job. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the functions, responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position, and Uncommon Limited retains the discretion to modify.