Pharmaceutical Research Scientist: Drug Discovery & Impact

Placements24; Kempton Park; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Health & wellness benefits

Retirement fund contributions

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Pharmaceutical Research Scientist in Gauteng to lead drug discovery efforts at our client's state-of-the-art facility in Tembisa. The role requires a Ph.D.

or equivalent, a strong publication record, and extensive experience in target identification and assay development. The successful candidate will work in a multidisciplinary team, designing complex experiments, coordinating with chemists and toxicologists, and driving project milestones toward candidate selection.

Qualifications

• PhD in a life sciences field with strong publication record.
• 3–5 years of postdoctoral or industry drug-discovery experience.
• Proven expertise in cell-based assays, molecular biology techniques, and in vivo models.
• Strong understanding of drug development processes and regulatory considerations.
• Excellent data analysis and presentation skills, with relevant software knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute complex biological experiments to identify and validate potential drug targets.
• Develop and optimize assays for screening compound libraries and evaluating drug candidate efficacy and safety.
• Conduct in vivo and in vitro studies to assess PK/PD properties of therapeutics.
• Analyze data, interpret results, and present findings at internal meetings and conferences.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists, toxicologists, and clinical teams to advance candidates through development.
• Maintain detailed lab notebooks and prepare scientific reports and publications.
• Stay current with literature and technological advancements in drug discovery.

Skills

Cell-based assay design

Molecular biology techniques

Data analysis (GraphPad Prism, R)

Education

PhD in Pharmacology/Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

Tools

GraphPad Prism

R

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Pharmaceutical Research Scientist in Gauteng to lead drug discovery efforts at our client's state-of-the-art facility in Tembisa. The role requires a Ph.D.

or equivalent, a strong publication record, and extensive experience in target identification and assay development. The successful candidate will work in a multidisciplinary team, designing complex experiments, coordinating with chemists and toxicologists, and driving project milestones toward candidate selection.