Company Name: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Ltd
Type of Role: Contract position, Inside IR35
Location: On-site, 5 days a week (Milton Park R&D, Abingdon Oxon)
Department: Molecular and Cell Biology

Two Contract Roles:
Senior Research Scientist, 14-month contract
Senior Research Scientist, 6-month contract

Looking for opportunities with purpose, impact and possibilities? Our client, Vertex, is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation. As they grow their pipeline at pace, they are strengthening their reputation for creating transformative medicines for people with serious diseases.

General Summary:
We are seeking two experienced bench scientist with a strong drug discovery background who is talented, self-motivated and collaborative, to join Vertex exceptional high-throughput biology team at thier state-of-the-art Oxford site.

The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in biochemistry, and will work independently to design, execute and interpret complex data from a range of biochemical and cellular assays.

This role is an excellent opportunity for an innovative scientist to use best in class technology and automation to contribute towards the discovery of treatments for serious diseases.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for executing medicinal chemistry screens, collecting and interpreting data, ensuring assays are robust and meet QC guidelines, and communicating data to key stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches to assay development.
• Design and conduct complex experiments to provide key decision-making data for project stakeholders, trouble shooting and defining next steps.
• Collaborate with cross functional partners (eg. medicinal chemistry, structural biology) to support integrated drug discovery programs.
• Prepare and present data in team meetings, contributing scientific insight and recommendations to guide strategy.
• Maintain exceptional standards of scientific rigour, accurate documentation, data integrity and compliance with regulatory guidelines.

• Strong expertise in biochemistry/enzymology.
• Extensive experience of small molecule drug discovery research, particularly of reversible, irreversible and heterobifunctional small molecules.
• Hands on experience of designing and executing biochemical and cell-based assays.
• Experience of automation and miniaturisation of assays preferred.
• Knowledge of data software and scheduling packages eg Genedata and Cellario desirable.
• Ability to collaborate effectively within a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced innovative environment.

• Ph.D., Masters or Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent degree) in biology, biochemistry or related science and relevant level of post-doctoral employment experience.