Senior Scientist or Associate Principal Scientist Metabolist Team in Cambridge

Location: Cambridge, UK

Competitive Salary & Excellent Company Benefits

Are you an experienced researcher with a background in the central control of obesity and body weight regulation? Would you like to apply your research expertise to accelerate innovative science and turn your ideas into life changing medicines? Join us to discover future treatments of Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic (CVRM) diseases!

At AstraZeneca, you will be empowered to be innovative and creative. AZ is a thriving community of the brightest and most curious scientific minds that seamlessly come together in our inclusive environment. We continuously forge partnerships that help pursue world-class medicines in new ways, combining our people’s outstanding skills with those of people from all over the globe.

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Scientist/Associate Principal Scientist to join the Metabolism team within the Early Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (Early CVRM) therapeutic area. The successful candidate will be located at AstraZeneca’s vibrant R&D site in Cambridge, UK, and will join a team of diverse and passionate scientists committed to discovering innovative treatments for obesity and its complications. We are looking for a highly productive bench scientist who can design and implement experiments efficiently, as well as analyse, interpret, and present data, and drive new research directions.

Role specifics

• You will serve as the primary in vitro/ex vivo biologist on drug discovery teams and help drive the progression of projects from early research through candidate selection.
• You will work together with a dynamic and dedicated team in the Metabolism division to help shape our focus on developing novel therapies for the treatment of obesity.
• This position will be laboratory based, and you will be responsible for applying your research skills and expertise in appetite suppression pathways to identify and validate therapeutic targets for eliciting body weight loss.
• You will be responsible for generating key experimental data and results in support of drug discovery projects, working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary project teams across Cambridge (UK), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Gaithersburg (US) as well as through leading external collaborations.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Develop and validate in vitro, advanced cell models, and ex vivo models and assays for studying obesity and assessing signalling endpoints for multiple target classes.
• Design and perform experiments to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of novel drug candidates.
• Analyse and interpret experimental data, and present research findings to project teams, external partners and at scientific conferences.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support drug discovery and development projects.
• Stay up to date with the latest scientific advancements in the field of metabolic disease/obesity.
• Identify and develop new target ideas, implement new models/assays/ latest technologies relevant to the obesity and metabolic diseases research areas.
• Prepare scientific publications and documents for patents and regulatory submissions.

Essential for the role

• PhD with postdoctoral training in neuroscience, physiology, pharmacology or other relevant area.
• Deep understanding of CNS pathways and signal transduction mechanisms that govern body weight control with proven track record in the metabolic neuroscience field.
• Demonstrable hands-on experience working with a variety of in vitro cell-based and ex-vivo methods and technologies that can be applied to researching and understanding neurocircuits of appetite regulation.
• Proven ability to develop and optimise new models and protocols, troubleshoot, interpret experimental results/data and maintain accurate, high quality and up-to-date experimental records.
• Proficiency in data analysis and interpretation using relevant software and statistical tools.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an ability to clearly articulate complex scientific concepts, and an ability to quickly learn and embrace new technologies.
• Experience and/or fresh ideas for leveraging AI in obesity research.
• Strong publication record as exemplified by first author publications in high-impact journals.

Desirable requirements

• Experience in leading CNS model development suitable for high-throughput target screening platforms.
• Experience in molecular biology approaches and vector design for interrogating appetite regulatory pathways and mechanisms.
• HO PIL A/B/C license holder with experience in stereotactic manipulations, analysis of feeding behaviour and nausea/emesis.
• Experience working in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in drug discovery and development.

So, what’s next?

Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you! Please submit your application no later than 21st May 2026.

Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment.

We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.