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Drug Discovery Project Leader
BenevolentAI, founded in 2013, creates and applies AI technologies to transform the way medicines are discovered and developed. BenevolentAI seeks to improve patient’s lives by applying technology designed to generate better data decision making and in doing so lower drug development costs, decrease failure rates and increase the speed at which medicines are generated. The company has developed the Benevolent Platform™ - a discovery platform used by BenevolentAI scientists to find new ways to treat disease and personalise drugs to patients.BenevolentAI is HQ’d in London with a research facility in Cambridge (UK) and further offices in New York and Antwerp. BenevolentAI has active R&D drug programmes from discovery to PhaseIIb in disease areas such as ALS, Parkinson’s, Ulcerative Colitis and Sarcopenia.
The Role
BenevolentAI (BAI) has five openings for biological scientists with experience in leading drug discovery programmes. These individuals, depending on experience, will provide either overall or biology leadership of technology-enabled small molecule drug discovery programmes, from hit identification right through to preclinical stages. In addition, new colleagues will be expected to participate in the use of the BAI target identification platform to identify additional targets to seed our expanding portfolio.
As a central member of a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team of scientists passionate about the potential of technology assisted drug discovery and development, you will bring your proven resilient leadership and ability to make pragmatic data driven decisions to advance our ever expanding portfolio of small molecule programs and target identification deployments. Based at our London offices off Tottenham Court Road or the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge (UK), you will work closely with a diverse range of experts in biological sciences, chemical sciences, clinical, commercialisation, artificial intelligence (AI), deep/machine learning (ML) and informatics teams to enrich the BAI portfolio.
Primary Responsibilities
Provide leadership for small molecule drug discovery programs from hit identification through to preclinical development
- Devise, lead and implement clear concise strategies to identify small molecule drugs
- Make data driven decisions to advance programmes through stage gates within timelines and budgets
- Responsible for overall project leadership
- Regularly reporting progress and issues with clear strategic recommendations to Senior leadership, Board of Directors, and/or Investors as and when required
- Coordinate with functions to ensure the appropriate resource and experience are supporting the project team at the required time and that assigned resources are effectively utilised
Additional Responsibilities
- Contribute to BAI portfolio reload by leading/participating in target identification for diverse diseases/mechanisms using the BAI AI/ML driven target identification platform
- Contribute to external collaborative relationships with academic leaders and contract research organisations
We are looking for someone with
- BSc / MSc / PhD in biological sciences with 3 - 8 years industry research experience, preferably consisting of at least 1 - 4 years providing either discipline or overall leadership for small molecule drug discovery programmes
- Proven ability to lead small molecule drug discovery programmes through stage gates to Candidate nomination, with clear evidence of decision making abilities
- Experience successfully leading/working in multi-disciplinary drug discovery & development teams, with excellent communication skills and the ability to forge productive relationships and collaborations both internally and externally
- Preclinical/clinical development experience desirable but not necessary
- Ability to work under pressure, manage different projects and deliver to defined timelines
- Experience in one or more areas of human disease or mechanistic pathways associated with disease, such as neurodegeneration, inflammation, fibrosis, diseases of aging or oncology, is desirable
- Evidence of creative thinking and problem solving, confidently applying novel strategies to move projects to important decision points quickly and efficiently
- Excellent oral and written communication skills e.g. can tailor the complexity of communications as and when required, whilst maintaining clarity of communication
Who we are
We are an eclectic bunch at Benevolent, united by our belief that innovative thinking and purposeful technology can truly change outcomes for the better. Our mission is to re-engineer drug discovery and deliver life-changing medicines for patients in need and we do this by applying AI, machine learning and other advanced technologies to reinvent the ways drugs are discovered and developed. We strive to bring together unique skills and perspectives across biology, chemistry, engineering, AI research, informatics, precision medicine and drug discovery. Together, we envision a world in which no disease goes untreated. If you are benevolent, curious, want to tackle real world problems and are willing to embrace new ideas, hit that ‘apply’ button and join us.
Important Note
It has come to our attention that unfortunately fraudsters have been falsely offering jobs and set-up fake interviews under the guise of being a Benevolent recruiter. We therefore advise you to be very stringent about who is reaching out to you. Any enquiry from our team will only be made via the email careers@benevolent.ai or an email from this domain @benevolent.ai. Please flag any suspicious contact request to hello@benevolent.ai
