Senior Scientist - Display Technologies (Antibody Discovery)

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer. We’re seeking an experienced Senior Scientist to focus on Antibody discovery. In this high impact role, you’ll be responsible for driving the innovation and delivery of candidate antibodies through high-throughput library design, panning and output triage. Your work will directly contribute to the discovery of clinically relevant candidates and tools for drug discovery.

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, you’ll be joining over 200 staff from both industrial and academic backgrounds, all dedicated to bringing forward the day we cure cancer.

What will you be doing?

• Design, implement and characterise phage display selection campaigns against recombinant and cell-expressed oncology-related target antigens.
• Design and construction of novel antibody libraries or affinity maturation libraries to isolate improved affinity and/or functional clones.
• Use bioinformatic and in silico sequence analysis software to guide antibody delivery and prioritisation.
• Characterise candidate antibody panels for desired biochemical and functional properties using a broad range of laboratory techniques, such as binding specificity and developability assays.
• Have a flexible approach to work, with the capacity to prioritise objectives according to project needs.
• Record, analyse, and present data at internal project meetings and external scientific forums, helping to shape the narrative of our discovery efforts and raise the visibility of your work.
• Drive scientific and technical innovation, including through both internal and external collaborations and partnerships.
• Communicate effectively, to influence multiple stakeholders and collaborate across projects and sites.
• Promote scientific excellence, through external publications and presentations.
• Play a pivotal role in training and developing colleagues, including through practical contributions.

What are we looking for?

• PhD or equivalent in relevant field - ideally with a phage display context.
• An understanding of biotherapeutic candidate discovery, ideally antibodies, and the overall development process for biotherapeutic drugs.
• Desire and ability to work in a fast-paced, quickly changing environment, showing agility/flexibility to meet deadlines and goals with a can-do attitude.
• Experience of display technologies, including building, panning and sequencing of outputs (Next Generation Sequencing would be advantageous).
• Familiarity with laboratory automation systems to streamline workflows and enhance throughput across discovery cascades.
• Strength in collaborative working and the ability to clearly articulate scientific goals, data interpretations, and project milestones across multidisciplinary teams.
• Passion for scientific innovation, with a demonstrated commitment to advancing immuno-oncology capabilities and driving novel approaches in antibody discovery.

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.

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.

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.