Lead Scientist - Computational Toxicology

For over 100 years we have been driving change to defeat diabetes, but we know that what got us here today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future. We are now transforming our business and taking our expertise into new territories including obesity and rare blood and endocrine diseases.

Our story is one of incredible growth and success, which has culminated in receiving many prestigious awards, such as Best Places to Work and Vitality – Britain’s Healthiest Workplace.

The Position

In this role you will develop, evaluate and implement computational models for toxicological risk assessment as well as build, evaluate and optimize models to predict toxicological outcomes across multiple therapeutic modalities including small molecules, and biologics.

You will work closely with colleagues across the R&D organization to develop and implement computational models for toxicological risk assessment, analyze and interpret complex toxicological data using advanced ML techniques, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate computational toxicology into drug discovery and development processes. The role reports to the Senior Scientific Director of the Small Molecule Digital Chemistry (SMDC) department.

Responsibilities

1. Apply toxicology modelling tools and principles to facilitate multi-property optimization of therapeutic molecules and advance portfolio projects.
2. Process and manipulate structured and unstructured toxicological data from various sources, including in vivo & in vitro Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics data, metabolomic, molecular modelling, multi-omics, imaging and text-based datasets.
3. Utilize advanced algorithms and approaches including AI/ML, mathematical and statistical methods to identify key toxicological features and patterns from large multimodal datasets.
4. Apply natural language processing (NLP) and image analysis techniques to extract relevant information and insights from scientific literature and images.
5. Employ graph theory and network analysis to understand relationships between chemical structures, biological pathways, and toxicological effects.

It is a full-time role with 2 days working from our London office. Up to 20% overnight travel is required.

Qualifications

We are searching for candidates with hands-on experience in developing, maintaining, and deploying proprietary global and local computational toxicology models in a corporate environment, working knowledge of popular commercial in-silico toxicity platforms, data sources, and tools as well as familiarity with regulatory requirements and guidelines related to safety assessment and toxicology.

The ideal candidate will have knowledge and experience in toxicology data analysis and modelling, advanced computational modelling methods and pharmaceutical project support. Working knowledge of common toxicology data sources and analysis tools including AI/ML approaches and physics-based predictive modelling is essential.

The candidate will be educated to Master’s (required) or PhD degree (strongly preferred), ideally within Toxicology, Computational Chemistry, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, or related quantitative field.

They will present a substantial level of relevant experience, which includes:

1. Research experience in the field of drug discovery for evaluating product safety using computational toxicology methods within industry or academia.
2. Solid understanding of toxicology principles and mechanisms and deep understanding of predictive biology.
3. Knowledge and use of applied toxicology, toxicity-testing methodologies, dose-response analysis, and safety risk assessment.
4. Ability to perform in-depth data analysis and draw meaningful conclusions from complex data.
5. Analyzing large, complex datasets in a high-performance compute environment using mathematical, statistical and AI/ML tools.
6. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with an emphasis on presentation abilities.

About the Department

Computational Drug Design (CDD) is the Novo Nordisk organization where we develop and apply state of the art capabilities in data science, predictive modelling, and AI/ML to enable both ligand and structure-based drug design. Scientists within CDD collaborate seamlessly with teams across the globe to invent better molecules faster.

With an unbiased approach to drug modalities, in-house access to the newest screening techniques, and world-class experimentation, we have a wealth of opportunities to impact our pipeline and save and improve patient lives. We work in multidisciplinary, highly collaborative discovery teams both locally and across Novo Nordisk’s global network to invent novel medicines by applying advanced computational techniques and developing innovative computational methods. We engage in external collaborations to ensure access to innovative research and technology.

Working at Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is its people. We know that life is anything but linear and balancing what is important at different stages of our career is never easy. That’s why we make room for diverse life situations, always putting people first. We value our employees for the unique skills they bring to the table, and we work continuously to bring out the best in them. Working at Novo Nordisk is working toward something bigger than ourselves, and it’s a collective effort. Together, we go further. Together, we’re life changing.

What We Offer

1. Bonus: We do our best work to succeed together. When goals are reached, you’ll be rewarded through our bonus scheme.
2. Your workplace: Our offices will be your primary workplace but with flexibility to work 2-3 days at home during your working week.
3. Pension: a market leading pension scheme with generous employer contributions.
4. Wellness: We want you to be your best self, so you’ll have access to an award-winning Wellness programme, including Private Medical Insurance.
5. Insurances: All colleagues are covered by our private medical, life and disability insurance which provides protection and peace of mind.
6. Inclusive culture: our culture is one of care, support and respect for our people. We are committed to making your workplace safe and believe that a transparent, inclusive culture and leadership is the way to empower every individual to do their very best.

Application Support

We are an equal opportunities employer, and we commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. If you’re a person with a disability, if you’re neurodivergent, and need any adjustments to be made during the application and selection process, please send an email to Please include your name, the role you are interested in and the type of adjustment you need.

Contact

Please apply to the role via our online platform as unfortunately, we are not able to accept directly sent resumes.

Deadline

Please apply before 17th February.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.

#J-18808-Ljbffr