Director Drug Discovery, Candidate Center CCA- NL

Amsterdam UMC; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 68,000 - 86,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

End-of-year bonus (8.3%)

GoodHabitz learning platform access

Pension ABP

100% public transport reimbursement

Bike scheme

Holiday and travel allowances

Job summary

Amsterdam UMC is seeking a Director of Drug Discovery to establish and lead Candidate Center CCA, a cutting-edge screening lab that integrates target-based, cell-based, and AI-supported approaches to generate cancer drug leads.

You will set up the lab, coordinate collaboration with academic groups, and oversee assay development, hit identification, and ongoing optimization, shaping translational projects and driving funding initiatives.

Qualifications

• PhD in (bio)medical sciences, (bio)chemistry, pharmacology or a related discipline.
• Experience in a drug discovery or screening environment in industry, biotech or academia.
• Familiarity with AI-supported drug discovery to prioritize compounds.
• Hands-on experience with biochemical/biophysical assays (e.g. SPR, TR-FRET) and phenotypic screening.
• Experience with acquiring grants or external funding.

Responsibilities

• Set up and expand a state-of-the-art drug discovery lab.
• Develop, validate and maintain target-based and cell-based screening systems.
• Run screens according to current international standards.
• Identify projects with high translational potential for drug discovery.
• Contribute to the acquisition of grants and external funding.

Skills

Assay design & validation

Biochemical/biophysical assays

Phenotypic screening

Grant funding acquisition

Lab setup & project management

Education

PhD in (bio)medical sciences or related

Tools

SPR

TR-FRET

High-content imaging

Job description

Build a drug discovery lab from scratch. As Director Drug Discovery at Candidate Center CCA, you set up and lead a state‑of‑the‑art screening lab, combining target‑based, cell‑based and AI‑supported drug discovery to deliver new cancer drug leads.

About The Project

Candidate Center CCA is a new drug discovery lab within Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA). It aims to identify and develop new drug leads for the treatment of cancer. The goal is to bring these leads to a stage where they can progress into clinical development or be taken further by industry.

The Lab Covers Two Complementary Screening Approaches

• Target‑based drug discovery: biochemical and biophysical assays on validated molecular targets, such as enzyme activity and binding assays (e.g. SPR, TR‑FRET or comparable techniques). The aim is to identify and optimize hits with a demonstrable mechanism of action.
• Cell‑based drug discovery: phenotypic screening assays, reporter cell lines and high‑content imaging in relevant oncology cell models, to capture more complex biological responses and functional effects.

AI‑supported drug discovery is a prominent part of this approach, in collaboration with expert groups in this field on campus. Combined with the tumor biology expertise of the research groups within CCA, this allows screens to be focused on the most relevant targets and compounds, and kept limited in scale. Projects are selected together with these groups on the basis of their translational potential.

What The Lab Will Deliver

• High‑quality reporter assays and drugsthat directly enable commercialization or clinical trials
• Projects that lead to patentable composition‑of‑matter IP, with potential for licensing or spin‑out to industry

The position is for 3 years, followed by an evaluation based on the KPI and Go/No‑Go framework of the Candidate Center.

About The Role

This is a new position. As Director Drug Discovery, you will set up and lead Candidate Center CCA, and you will have room to shape the lab yourself. You initiate, coordinate and carry out collaborative screening programs with academic groups across CCA. You are responsible from assay development to hit identification, and you remain involved in hit optimization together with other capacity groups.

Activities Include

• Setting up and expanding a state‑of‑the‑art drug discovery lab within the infrastructure of the Candidate Center and CCA
• Developing, validating and maintaining target‑based and cell‑based screening systems
• Running screens according to current international standards
• Identifying, together with academic groups, projects with high translational potential for drug discovery
• Contributing to the acquisition of grants and external funding

Within the Translational Management Team, you are ultimately responsible for the funding and execution of the Candidate projects. You will have the opportunity to build Candidate Center CCA into a productive, financially self‑sustaining screening center, with its own technical team, that delivers multiple new drug leads. You will work towards this with clear, shared milestones: progress is reviewed annually against the Candidate Center KPIs (external funding, invention disclosures, patent applications, and spin‑offs or licenses), with an integral evaluation after three years.

Profile

Applicants Bring The Following

• a PhD in (bio)medical sciences, (bio)chemistry, pharmacology or a related discipline;
• work experience in a drug discovery or screening environment, for example in industry, biotech or an academic screening facility, and an understanding of the full drug discovery trajectory, including hit optimization;
• broad expertise in assay design and validation for both target‑based and cell‑based drug discoveryExperience or affinity with AI‑supported drug discovery, for example to prioritize compounds and keep screens focused;
• hands‑on experience with biochemical/biophysical assays (e.g. SPR, TR‑FRET) and with phenotypic screening, reporter cell lines and high‑content imaging;
• experience with acquiring grants or external funding.

We Are Looking For The Following Personality Traits

• a proactive individual who enjoys building a new lab from the ground up;
• someone who takes ownership of both the science and the finances, and delivers on commitments;
• commercially and industry‑aware;
• a strong connector who brings together academic groups, AI experts and management around shared projects.

Our offer

• A new position with room to build and shape a drug discovery lab from the ground up.
• A 1.0 FTE appointment for a period of 3 years. After this period, an evaluation based on the KPI and Go/No‑Go framework of the Candidate Center determines whether the contract is extended, for a fixed or indefinite term.
• Classification in salary scale 12: € 6.052 to € 7.684 gross for full‑time employment (depending on education and experience). In addition to a good basic salary, we offer 8.3% end‑of‑year bonus. Calculate your net salary here (https://www.vismaraet.nl/bruto-netto-salaris-berekenen/).
• Holiday hours: 194.4 per year based on full‑time employment and possibility to save additional hours.
• 100% reimbursement for public transport travel costs. If you travel by foot, bicycle, or car, a mileage allowance of €0.21 per km applies (up to a maximum of 40 km one way by car).
• Do you prefer walking or cycling? Take advantage of our good bike scheme.
• Pension accrual with the ABP, of which we pay 70% of the premium.
• Free and unlimited access to our online learning environment GoodHabitz.
• An active staff association and Jong Amsterdam UMC (https://jongamsterdamumc.nl/en/) association, both of which organize fun (sports) activities and events.

About The Workplace

Candidate-CCA is embedded in the Laboratory for Experimental Oncology and Radiobiology (LEXOR) of Cancer Center Amsterdam in the RDC Adore research building, and is part of the Candidate Center of Amsterdam UMC spanning both neurology and oncology. You will work closely with academic research groups across CCA. You will be supported by the Translational Management Team of Candidate Center CCA in setting up collaborations and selecting projects. You will work in alignment with the Director Drug Discovery of the Candidate Center‑neurology. For AI‑supported drug discovery, you will collaborate with expert groups in this field within Amsterdam UMC and on the VU campus. You report on progress to the Managing Director of the Candidate Center Platform and, on invitation, to the Candidate Center Steering Committee. Functionally, you report to the head of LEXOR.

Let’s meet

The first round of interviews is scheduled in December. We ask you to take this into account in advance. Do you have any questions?

A reference check and screening can be part of the procedure.

Internal candidates will be given priority over external candidates in the event of equal suitability.