Principal Scientist

Make your mark for patients

We are looking for a Principal Scientist – In Vitro Pharmacology who is innovative and highly motivated to join our Target Evaluation and Primary Pharmacology team based in Slough, UK, (Windlesham, Surrey 2027).

About the role

This role combines scientific leadership with hands-on laboratory research to support the progression of novel therapeutics across multiple target classes and modalities. You will leverage deep pharmacology expertise, quantitative analysis, and digital approaches to generate impactful data and drive informed decisions across discovery programmes.

Who You'll Work With

You will join the Target Evaluation and Primary Pharmacology team within UCB Research, partnering closely with experts across pharmacology, translational sciences, biology, data science and drug discovery to advance innovative therapeutic programmes.

What You'll Do

• Design and deliver biochemical and cellular in vitro pharmacology assays supporting target validation and drug discovery programmes across NCE and NBE modalities.
• Generate, analyse and interpret pharmacology data to inform project progression and portfolio decisions.
• Lead, mentor and support a small team of scientists while fostering a collaborative and high-performing research culture.
• Apply quantitative, computational and digital approaches to strengthen data interpretation and translational understanding.
• Work with primary human cells and complex functional assay systems to investigate target biology and mechanisms of action.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and communicate scientific insights, recommendations and study outcomes to key stakeholders.

Interested? For This Position You'll Need the Following Education, Experience and Skills

• PhD, MSc or equivalent experience in Pharmacology, Biology, Drug Discovery, or a related life sciences discipline.
• Proven experience supporting small molecule (NCE) and/or biologic (NBE) discovery programmes within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology environment.
• Strong expertise in biochemical and/or cellular pharmacology, including assay development, optimisation, validation and application to target evaluation and drug discovery.
• Demonstrated ability to generate, analyse and interpret complex pharmacology datasets using quantitative, statistical and data visualisation approaches to drive project decisions.
• Experience in mathematical modelling or computational pharmacology is highly desirable.
• Experience working with primary human cells, complex functional assays, and translational pharmacology approaches to investigate mechanism of action and disease biology, would be desirable.
• A passion for people leadership and a willingness to manage a small team.

Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!

About us
UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company, focusing on neurology and immunology. We are over 9.000 people in all four corners of the globe, inspired by patients and driven by science.

Why work with us?
At UCB, we don’t just complete tasks, we create value. We aren’t afraid to push forward, collaborate, and innovate to make our mark for patients. We have a caring, supportive culture where everyone feels included, respected, and has equal opportunities to do their best work. We ‘go beyond’ to create value for our patients, and always with a human focus, whether that’s on our patients, our employees, or our planet. Working for us, you will discover a place where you can grow, and have the freedom to carve your own career path to achieve your full potential.

At UCB, we’ve embraced a hybrid-first approach to work, bringing teams together in local hubs to foster collaborative curiosity. Unless expressly stated in the description or precluded by the nature of the position, roles are hybrid with 40% of your time spent in the office.

UCB is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be made without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on EMEA-Reasonable_Accommodation@ucb.com. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments; we will not be able to support you through this channel.