Principal Computational Biologist (Portfolio Generation)

£57,000 - £70,900 plus benefits

Reports to: Group Leader – Quantitative Biology

Directorate: Research & Innovation

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Cambridge, Babraham Research Campus, Limited flexibility 3-4 days per week on site

Closing date: 25 January 2026 23:55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment.

Please let us know if there is anything about the recruitment process that you would like to discuss, in particular if there are any changes or adjustments that would make it easier for you to apply. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

Visa sponsorship: Cancer Research UK can consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If this applies to you, please ensure that this is clearly marked on your application.

Recruitment process: 1st stage interview via Microsoft Teams, 2nd stage will include a presentation followed by competency‑based questions on‑site. Interview date: We will be booking 1st stage interviews on an ongoing basis, 2nd stage in planned for 3 and 6 of February.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

About Cancer Research Horizons: As the world’s biggest medical research charity, we’ve helped bring eleven new cancer drugs to market. However, there is still an urgent need to bring more effective treatments to patients faster. We have recently developed a new approach to driving therapeutic innovation through the creation of Cancer Research Horizons (CRH). We have brought together Cancer Research UK’s established drug discovery teams under one organisation and leadership team, combining our unique pipeline of cancer biology expertise and access to CRUK’s world‑class academic network, cutting edge technology platforms and clinical expertise to 1) bring new treatments to patients faster and 2) tackle the biggest challenges in discovering cancer drugs by seeking out more radical ideas and embracing risk in our bid to achieve success.

Based at sites in Cambridge, the CRUK Scotland Institute in Glasgow, and Newcastle University, Cancer Research Horizons employs approximately 200 staff from both industrial and academic backgrounds. This is a new role for the team and real chance to make a tangible impact from day one.

We are looking for candidates who can bring strong experience of AI and machine learning to unlock the power of real patient data. We’re just scratching the surface, and now’s your chance to lead the way.

In this role, you will become an integral part of the Cancer Research Horizon Drug Discovery team helping to progress novel cancer targets towards patient benefit. We actively encourage our colleagues to celebrate our science, by attending conferences, presenting posters, giving talks at events and publishing papers.

What will you be doing?

• Set and drive your computational strategy for the analysis of patient multi‑omics datasets to discover novel oncology targets.
• Evaluate, develop, and implement new and existing machine learning and AI approaches to uncover actionable biological insights from large multi‑modal oncology datasets.
• Provide deep expertise in computational biology and its role in oncology drug discovery.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement for our computational and analytical approaches.
• Provide scientific and strategic leadership in computational biology across CRH.
• Communicate effectively to influence multiple stakeholders and collaborate across projects and sites, including externally.
• Promote scientific excellence through external publication and presentations.
• Play a pivotal role in training and developing colleagues.

What are we looking for?

• PhD in bioinformatics, data science, or equivalent.
• Experience within a drug discovery environment specifically in a pharma or biotech company.
• Experienced in the use and development of machine learning and AI approaches for the integration and analysis of large multi‑omics datasets.
• A strategic thinker with proven scientific leadership, including through matrix management.
• Programming experience with tools such as Python.
• Experience adhering to good coding hygiene practices such as documentation, testing, and code review.
• Excellent communication skills, ability to describe complex science in an engaging and inclusive manner.
• Ability to build open and honest relationships and influence multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to work collaboratively across projects and sites, also externally.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

• Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination.
• Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism.
• Human: Act to have a positive impact on people.
• Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively.

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high‑quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work‑life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals. You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk.

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under‑represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.