Senior Pharmaceutical R&D Scientist: Target Discovery Lead

Placements24; Benoni; On-site; ZAR 950,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career development

Conference attendance

Job summary

Placements24 in South Africa’s Gauteng seeks a Senior Pharmaceutical R&D Scientist to lead early drug discovery in Benoni. The role requires a PhD with extensive post-doctoral drug discovery experience and a track record in identifying novel targets and HTS-driven lead identification.

The candidate will collaborate with medicinal chemistry, guide lead optimization, and mentor junior scientists while ensuring compliance with safety and regulatory standards.

Qualifications

• PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, genetics, or related life science.
• Minimum 5 years post-doctoral research experience in drug discovery within pharma/biotech.
• Experience with HTS, lead optimization, and in vivo pharmacology studies.
• Proficiency in a broad range of molecular and cellular biology techniques.
• Strong understanding of drug development processes and regulatory considerations.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute in vitro and in vivo experiments to identify and validate novel drug targets.
• Develop and implement high-throughput screening (HTS) assays for lead identification.
• Characterize pharmacological properties of lead compounds (potency, selectivity, mechanism).
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists to guide lead optimization into drug candidates.
• Mentor junior scientists and manage drug discovery projects with timelines.

Skills

Target ID

Assay development

HTS screening

Lead optimization

In vivo pharmacology

Molecular biology

Bioinformatics

Project management

Scientific writing

Communication

Education

PhD in Molecular Biology

Tools

Bioinformatics tools

Job description

Placements24 in South Africa’s Gauteng seeks a Senior Pharmaceutical R&D Scientist to lead early drug discovery in Benoni. The role requires a PhD with extensive post-doctoral drug discovery experience and a track record in identifying novel targets and HTS-driven lead identification.

The candidate will collaborate with medicinal chemistry, guide lead optimization, and mentor junior scientists while ensuring compliance with safety and regulatory standards.