Drug Discovery Project Leader II

RXinsider LTD.; Saint Charles (MO); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Life and disability insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

Eurofins Scientific is seeking a senior drug discovery program leader to drive high‑impact programs from target validation through candidate selection, translating cutting‑edge science into clinical‑ready compounds.

You will lead cross‑functional project teams across Oncology, Inflammation, Neuroscience, Metabolism, and Infectious Diseases, guiding discovery strategies and client collaborations to deliver value for patients.

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate has a background in Medicinal Chemistry, Biology or DMPK with broad drug discovery expertise.
• At least 10 years of drug discovery project leadership in industry across multiple targets.
• Demonstrated track record of leading teams and delivering clinical candidates.

Responsibilities

• Consult with the client on requirements and prepare integrated drug discovery proposals.
• Drive progress of projects across sites to ensure timely data delivery and milestones.
• Interpret data to enable swift decisions and manage risks to timelines and budgets.
• Serve as key project contact for client meetings and updates on timelines and finances.
• Maintain project management documents, trackers and Gantt charts for oversight.
• Develop and maintain resourcing and budget plans to meet client needs.
• Understand Eurofins Discovery capabilities and capacity for strategic planning.
• Communicate status and issues to management and stakeholders via meetings and documents.
• Interact with clients, industry peers, and suppliers, including client visits.

Skills

Medicinal Chemistry

Biology

DMPK

Project leadership

Communication skills

SharePoint

Education

MSc or PhD in biological sciences or relevant subject

Tools

SharePoint

Microsoft Project

AI tools

Job description

Eurofins Scientific is an international life sciences company, providing a unique range of analytical testing services to clients across multiple industries, to make life and our environment safer, healthier and more sustainable. From the food you eat, to the water you drink, to the medicines you rely on, Eurofins works with the biggest companies in the world to ensure the products they supply are safe, their ingredients are authentic and labelling is accurate.Eurofins believes it is a global leader in food, environmental, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products testing and in agroscience CRO services. It is also one of the global independent market leaders in certain testing and laboratory services for genomics, discovery pharmacology, forensics, CDMO, advanced material sciences and in the support of clinical studies.

In over just 30 years, Eurofins has grown from one laboratory in Nantes, France to over 50,000 staff across a network of more than 900 independent companies in over 50 countries and operating more than 800 laboratories. Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 200,000 analytical methods to evaluate the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin, traceability and purity of biological substances and products, as well as providing innovative clinical diagnostic testing services, as one of the leading global emerging players in specialized clinical diagnostics testing.

In 2021, Eurofins generated total revenues of EUR € 6.7 billion, and has been among the best performing stocks in Europe over the past 20 years.

Job Description

Come join our growing and dynamic team! In this role, you will lead high‑impact drug discovery programs from target validation through candidate selection, translating cutting‑edge science into clinical‑ready compounds.

You’ll bring a strong track record of successfully advancing compounds into clinical development, pairing deep scientific expertise with strategic vision and decisive leadership. Working across Oncology, Inflammation, Neuroscience, Metabolism, and Infectious Diseases, you will play a pivotal role in advancing a diverse and growing portfolio of client‑driven programs.

As a central driver of DiscoveryOne® integrated drug discovery projects, you will build and lead dynamic, cross‑functional project teams—uniting Eurofins Discovery scientists with our client partners. By harnessing the full breadth of Eurofins Discovery capabilities, you will design, plan, and execute end‑to‑end discovery strategies that deliver meaningful results for our clients—and ultimately, for patients.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Work with the Business Development team to consult with the client as to their requirements, research, help prepare and deliver client integrated drug discovery proposals containing, where required, screening cascade/work flow design – requiring interaction with client, BL key stakeholders and key experts from sites within Eurofins Discovery including pricing team.
• Drive the progress of projects and activities across the relevant sites to ensure timely delivery of data, project milestones and productive relationships with clients.
• Interpret data to enable swift decision making, identify and avoid future risks to enable achievement of timelines, budgets or milestones and support the project team in reaching solutions satisfactory to the clients
• Act as the key project contact in regular communications with client’s project matters including scheduling and attending regular project meetings, presenting updates to the client on timelines (Gantt), data delivery, change requests, financial and commercial aspects of the project.
• Support the maintenance of the relevant project management documents, on-line project trackers (SharePoint) and Gantt Charts to support project tracking.
• Develops resourcing and budget plans to meet client needs
• Develop and maintain an understanding of Eurofins Discovery capabilities and capacity and the wider capabilities of Eurofins Biopharma Services
• Communicate project status and issues to the management and other stakeholders through meetings and key documents (program timelines, budget breakdowns, vendor management, resourcing etc.)
• Interact with clients, industry peers, suppliers as required. Including customer visits for project meetings and client visits in support of business development.
• Prepare and facilitate the post-project evaluation - ensure lessons learned are shared/implemented across projects and stakeholders as needed, participate in continuous improvement activities.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate:

• Expert user of on-line project and data-management tools (i.e. SharePoint). A background in Medicinal Chemistry, Biology or DMPK - Broad drug discovery expertise from more than 10 years in the industry, covering different therapeutic areas and project phases across multiple target classes and gene families. Track record of leading teams and delivering multiple clinical candidates.
• Higher degree (MSc or PhD) or equivalent in biological sciences or relevant subject. At least 10 years’ experience of drug discovery project leadership in industry – therapeutic area expertise eg oncology/CNS/metabolism/immunooncology
• Strong project planning, leadership, negotiation and communication skills as well as an ability to contribute creative and practical solutions to problems.
• Excellent organization, communication (oral and written) and attention to detail, committed to quality deliverables and on time
• Passionate about drug discovery with the ability to inspire effective teamwork and motivate staff to obtain project objectives; matrix team player.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, self-motivation, adaptability, and a positive attitude.
• Resides in CST or EST time zones (as this role will be working closely with team members in the EU)
• Ability to learn new techniques, perform multiple tasks simultaneously, keep accurate records, and comply with company policies.
• Advanced computer skills (word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, power point, project management software, Microsoft project, employment of AI tools etc.)
• Travel is required 10% of the time

Additional Information

The position is full-time, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., with overtime as needed.

• Excellent full time benefits including comprehensive medical coverage, dental, and vision options
• Life and disability insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid vacation and holidays

Eurofins USA Discovery Services is a Disabled and Veteran Equal Employment Opportunity employer.