Drug Discovery Scientist — Innovative Pharmaceutical Research

Placements24; Rustenburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement savings

State-of-the-art facilities

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Pharmaceutical Research Scientist to contribute to cutting-edge drug discovery in its Rustenburg laboratory. You will design, execute, and analyze experiments for novel therapeutics, collaborating with chemists, biologists, pharmacologists, and toxicologists.

The role requires a PhD or MSc in pharmacology/biochemistry/molecular biology, 3–5 years of pharma R&D experience, and strong data analysis and scientific communication skills.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, or related life science discipline.
• Minimum of 3–5 years hands-on pharmaceutical R&D experience focusing on drug discovery.
• Demonstrated expertise in experimental design, execution, and data analysis.
• Proficiency in lab techniques and instrumentation listed under requirements.
• Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to present complex scientific information clearly.
• Experience with data analysis software (GraphPad Prism, R) is essential.

Responsibilities

• Design, conduct, and optimize experiments to identify and characterize novel drug candidates.
• Perform in vitro and/or in vivo studies to evaluate efficacy, safety, and PK properties.
• Analyze experimental data using statistical software and interpret results.
• Develop and validate new assays and methodologies for drug discovery and development.
• Troubleshoot experimental challenges and propose innovative solutions.
• Maintain detailed lab notebooks and records per SOPs and regulatory guidelines.
• Prepare research reports, publications, and presentations for stakeholders.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including chemists, biologists, pharmacologists, and toxicologists.

Skills

Experimental design

Data analysis

Scientific communication

Independent work

Education

PhD or Master’s in Pharmacology/ Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology

Tools

Cell culture

Western blotting

ELISA

qPCR

Flow cytometry

Animal handling

GraphPad Prism

R

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Pharmaceutical Research Scientist to contribute to cutting-edge drug discovery in its Rustenburg laboratory. You will design, execute, and analyze experiments for novel therapeutics, collaborating with chemists, biologists, pharmacologists, and toxicologists.

The role requires a PhD or MSc in pharmacology/biochemistry/molecular biology, 3–5 years of pharma R&D experience, and strong data analysis and scientific communication skills.