Scientist II, Discovery, Frontier Biology

At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed. We pursue innovative science, focusing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions. We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs are guiding our development activities at every stage. Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience. At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn’t a buzzword - it’s a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division. We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their care-givers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes. Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care.

This role sits at the heart of our drug discovery work, focused on delivering high-quality bench research and running in vitro and/or in vivo assays that directly shape our pipeline. You’ll be hands-on in designing, planning, and executing studies that generate the critical data needed to hit key program milestones. You’ll work closely with a collaborative, cross-functional team, maintaining clear and consistent communication with both internal and external stakeholders to keep programs moving forward. Your responsibilities will include developing, executing, and evaluating in vitro and in vivo study designs to ensure robust, meaningful outcomes. Beyond the lab, you’ll play a key role in leading—or contributing to—research program teams, helping to spark new ideas, build smart study plans, run pharmacology studies, and deliver high-value results on time. This role offers the chance to actively engage with global R&D partners and make a real, visible impact on the progression of new drug candidates.

At Astellas we recognise the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimise the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.

This position directly impacts our ability to prosecute company goals of maintaining an early-stage pipeline of potential drug candidates. Measures of success include advancing new targets through successive stages of the drug discovery pipeline, with key components including:

• Efficiently and technically competently executing laboratory work designed to advance early-stage projects.
• Being accountable for the timeliness and quality of individual scientific workload.
• Being accountable for ensuring the integrity of data being generated for scientific projects.
• Keeping behavioural guidelines in mind while acting as a role model for responsibly adhering to team policies, procedures, and guidelines for conducting work.
• Accurately interpreting experimental data, performing statistical analyses, formulating conclusions, and communicating data with colleagues.
• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of experimental data.
• Presenting data at regular internal meetings.
• Reporting to the manager and program lead.

Demonstrating and evolving pharmaceutical capabilities, including generating new ideas, developing target product profiles, applying pharmacology study expertise, and explaining scientific value at a professional level. Exploring cutting-edge technologies and scientific approaches globally and creating new research programs at Astellas through deep understanding of research strategy and high sensitivity to external scientific trends. Organizing teams composed of multiple research programs, ensuring alignment across programs, prioritizing initiatives, allocating resources, and scheduling team timelines. Entirely and independently leading research program teams by planning actions, conducting pharmacological research, achieving schedules, and actively engaging with stakeholders across R&D, global Astellas divisions, and external partners to create high-value candidates or products.

Essential Knowledge & Experience:

• Proficiency in cell handling and tissue culture techniques.
• Strong background in molecular biology, including DNA, RNA, and protein-related methodologies.
• Competence in designing, developing, and executing a wide range of in vitro assays and/or in vivo animal models.
• Demonstrated experience in assay development, particularly for novel entities or targets.
• Skilled in in vivo tissue processing and biological sample analysis.
• In-depth understanding of pharmacology, particularly in non-clinical drug discovery research settings.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Strong organizational, time management, and problem-solving skills with scientific attention to detail.
• Able to work productively and to participate in a highly creative and fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Knowledge & Experience:

• Master’s degree (MS) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in relevant scientific field that provides knowledge of theories, principles and concepts within biological sciences or equivalent.
• Drug discovery experience in multiple disease areas, such as oncology and immunology.
• A strong track record of contributing to successful drug discovery and development projects.
• Experience with cutting-edge molecular biology techniques.
• Deep understanding of in vivo disease models.
• Experience in the development and validation of non-clinical pharmacological models.
• Candidates with experience in antibody research, synthetic biology, or protein engineering will be a plus.
• Ability to process and interpret complex datasets and provide actionable insights.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritise tasks effectively.
• Proven ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including pharmacologists, chemists, and clinical researchers in multi-regional teams.

This is a permanent full-time field-based role based in the UK. This position follows our hybrid working model. The role requires a blend of home and a minimum of 4 days a week in the office in our Cambridge office. Flexibility may be required in line with business needs. Candidates must be located within a commutable distance of the office.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.