Executive Director & Founding Scientist

Executive Director & Founding Scientist

Help redefine how medicines are discovered.

Our client is an AI-native pharmaceutical company reimagining how medicines are discovered and developed.

By combining exceptional biology with cutting-edge computational approaches and AI, they’re building a new model for pharmaceutical R&D-one where a small team of exceptional scientists can take complete ownership of therapeutic programmes from discovery through to the clinic.

Rather than building large, matrixed organisations, they’re creating a company where every scientist is empowered to think like a founder, make decisions, and drive scientific programmes independently. Their ambition is simple: build great medicines, repeatedly.

As one of the company’s first scientific hires, you’ll play a defining role in shaping both the science and the future of the organisation.

The Opportunity

As an Executive Director & Founding Scientist , you’ll lead your own therapeutic programme with end-to-end scientific ownership.

You’ll be responsible for identifying opportunities, designing strategy, interpreting data, making critical scientific decisions and advancing your programme through discovery, preclinical development and into early clinical stages.

This is a highly autonomous role where you’ll work alongside an exceptional founding team while leveraging the latest computational and AI-enabled technologies to accelerate drug discovery.

The company’s initial pipeline focuses on first-in-class antibody therapeutics, beginning with programmes in rare diseases and areas including neuroinflammation and infectious disease.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead an end-to-end therapeutic programme from target identification through early clinical development.

• Apply deep biological expertise to identify and validate novel therapeutic opportunities.

• Use computational approaches and AI-enabled tools to accelerate scientific decision-making and drug discovery.

• Design, interpret and integrate experimental and computational data.

• Work closely with external CROs, manufacturing partners and clinical collaborators to progress programmes efficiently.

• Contribute to scientific strategy and help shape the future direction of the company.

About You

You’re an exceptional scientist who enjoys solving complex biological problems and embraces technology as a core part of your research.

You may bring expertise in areas such as:

• Neuroinflammation

• Neuroscience

• Infectious disease

• Immunology

• Antibody engineering

• Protein biology

• Cell signalling

• Translational medicine

You’ll also bring:

• Significant experience in drug development.

• A strong understanding of translational science and progressing programmes towards the clinic.

• A computational mindset with coding experience (Python or similar).

• Confidence using modern software tools and AI to improve scientific workflows.

• The ability to work independently, make decisions and take ownership of complex scientific programmes.

Ideal Background

We’re interested in speaking with scientists who have remained technically hands-on while developing into scientific leaders.

You may currently be:

• A Director or Senior Director within biotechnology or pharmaceutical R&D.

• A founder or former founder of a biotech or life sciences company.

• A translational academic leading research with clear therapeutic applications.

• A scientist from an AI-enabled drug discovery company looking for greater ownership and impact.

Most importantly, you’re excited by the opportunity to build rather than maintain, and you’re motivated by scientific ownership rather than organisational hierarchy.

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to become one of the founding scientific leaders in a company with an ambitious vision for the future of pharmaceutical R&D.

You’ll work within a highly selective team, enjoy exceptional levels of autonomy, and have the opportunity to own and shape therapeutic programmes from day one.

If you’re looking for the chance to combine world-class biology with computational thinking and help define the next generation of drug discovery, we’d love to arrange a confidential conversation.