Principal Scientist, Immunology in Oxford

Your new company
You'll be joining a global biopharmaceutical organisation developing novel biologic therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. You'll work within a collaborative research team applying advanced cellular immunology to progress new targets and therapeutic programmes through preclinical discovery.

Your new role
As a Principal Scientist, you will combine scientific leadership with hands-on immunology expertise to support biologics discovery programmes.
This is a key research role and will involve being on-site 5 days per week.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and mentoring a team of laboratory-based scientists across multiple immunology research programmes
• Designing and overseeing in-vitro immunology assays to support target validation, lead identification, and mechanism-of-action studies
• Driving scientific strategy by integrating immunology, disease biology, pharmacology, and therapeutic development knowledge
• Supporting the design and interpretation of in-vivo and ex-vivo studies, working closely with internal teams and CRO partners
• Generating high-quality data packages and scientific recommendations to support programme progression and portfolio decisions
• Collaborating across discovery, protein engineering, translational medicine, biomarkers, and development teams to deliver project objectives

What you'll need to succeed
A successful candidate will combine deep immunology expertise with proven scientific leadership and drug discovery experience and have:

• A PhD (or equivalent experience) in Immunology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Biology or a related life sciences discipline, with significant postdoctoral and/or biotech, CRO, or pharmaceutical industry experience
• Strong understanding of immunology, autoimmune disease biology, and therapeutic development
• Hands-on laboratory expertise in cell culture, immune-cell assays, and flow cytometry
• Experience supporting drug discovery programmes through target validation, lead optimisation, or preclinical research
• Ability to interpret complex datasets and translate findings into clear scientific direction
• Proven experience leading and influencing cross-functional research programmes
• The right to work in the UK until at least November 2027 (preferably beyond) as no sponsorship is available for this role

The following would be an advantage but are not required:

• Experience supporting biologics or antibody discovery programmes
• Familiarity with in-vivo pharmacology approaches and how they contribute to candidate progression
• Experience contributing to IND-enabling activities, publications, patents, or external collaborations
• Leadership or mentoring or scientific teams

What you'll get in return
A very generous pay rate (equivalent to an £80-100,000 salary) dependent on experience, and the chance to drive forward several drug discovery and development projects in a leading global pharmaceutical company.

What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

Keywords: Immunology, Principal, Scientist, Research, Drug, Discovery, Development, Pharmaceutical, Autoimmune, Inflammation, Biologics, Antibody, Discovery, Target, Validation, Pharmacology, Cell, Culture, Flow, Cytometry, Immune, Therapeutics, Preclinical, Biology, Translational, Mechanism, Biomarkers, Assays, Disease, Leadership, Innovation