Senior Scientist in Business Development for Search & Evaluation

Gubra; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A biotech company specialized in drug discovery is seeking a candidate for a cross-disciplinary role in Cambridge, MA. The position involves evaluating early-stage targets and performing scientific due diligence to inform partnership discussions. Ideal candidates should possess a PhD in life sciences and demonstrate strong experience in drug discovery. This role focuses on fostering an entrepreneurial environment where scientific curiosity thrives and contributions directly impact the company's innovation roadmap.

Qualifications

• Strong ability to evaluate biological and pharmacological data.
• Ability to synthesize complex science into concise, decision-ready recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Scout and evaluate early-stage targets and technologies.
• Perform scientific due diligence to assess potential fit.
• Create decision-ready materials for recommendations.
• Track publications and emerging companies for opportunities.
• Build relationships with researchers and partner organizations.

Skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Demonstrated experience in drug discovery

Structured and analytical working style

Proactive and entrepreneurial mindset

Broad scientific curiosity

Education

PhD in life sciences or a closely related field

Job description

What you will do

In this cross-disciplinary role you will operate at the intersection of science, strategy, and collaboration focusing on identifying and evaluating opportunities. Your work will directly inform partnership and M&A discussions and will help shape Gubra’s innovation roadmap.

Your primary areas of responsibility will be:

• Scout and evaluate early-stage targets, technologies, and external opportunities relevant to Gubra’s therapeutic focus and platform strategy.
• Perform scientific due diligence to evaluate potential fit, for example assessing novelty, biological rationale, translational potential, differentiation, key risks, and the competitive landscape.
• Create decision-ready materials that enable clear go/no-go recommendations.
• Build and maintain an external landscape view by tracking publications, preprints, patents, conferences, and emerging companies to identify opportunities and threats.
• Attend scientific meetings and build relationships with researchers, founders, and partner organizations.
• Contribute to internal projects as needed, including target and asset evaluations and early discovery support.

We are looking for a person with:

• PhD in life sciences or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience in drug discovery and a strong ability to evaluate biological and pharmacological data.
• Broad scientific curiosity and the judgment to assess diverse approaches, from target biology to enabling technologies.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex science into concise, decision-ready recommendations.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial mindset and comfortable working in a small team in a fast-changing environment.
• Structured, analytical, hands-on working style and the ability to manage multiple priorities.

Nice to have:

• Experience with peptide-based drug discovery and/or target discovery.
• Existing academic or industry networks relevant to early discovery, platform technologies, or partnering.

Please apply no later than February 16, 2026 by uploading your motivated cover letter, resumé, and relevant diplomas on our website. Please apply as soon as possible and note that applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. If you have questions about the position, please contact Head of Gubra US, Frederik Friis-Hansen ([e-mail]).

This position is onsite in our Cambridge office.

About Gubra

Gubra is a disease-agnostic techbio company specialized in peptide-based drug discovery and preclinical contract research services striving for excellence at all levels. We insist on doing things efficiently – and often differently - to reach the results we aim for. Our vision is to become leaders in the path towards a more sustainable and healthier world. We do that by facilitating the discovery of new medicine, and by acting and inspiring others to fight the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises.

Gubra’s activities are focused on the early stages of drug development and are organised in two main highly synergistic business areas: Biotech and CRO Services. We generate our revenue by performing research for life science companies as well as by partnering projects from our discovery and development pipeline.

Our therapeutic focus is within metabolic and fibrotic diseases, and we specialize in in vivo pharmacology, ex vivo assays, drug profiling, histology, stereology and whole brain and organ imaging. In addition, we offer a full palette of advanced transcriptomics. Our ML/AI-driven peptide drug discovery platform streaMLine enables us to rapidly develop a peptide hit into a non-clinical candidate ready for development. Through a constant focus on high quality, scientific excellence, speed, and solid teamwork we have established ourselves as a highly professional and competent partner in the market.

People are our greatest asset, and our team consists of around 300 employees. The mix of people from different cultures and educational backgrounds combined with our entrepreneurial mindset have greatly impacted our working environment, which is characterized by entrepreneurial drive, scientific curiosity, and teamwork – we join forces!