Senior Or Principal Scientist
Location: London, UK
Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent
The Opportunity
This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced biologics scientist to play a key role in designing and advancing next-generation antibody therapeutics . You will bring extensive hands-on expertise in antibody engineering, affinity maturation, and developability assessment while partnering closely with computational biology and machine learning teams to translate biological insights into clinic-ready molecules.
The ideal candidate will have personally designed and optimized therapeutic antibodies and contributed to biologics programs from target validation through candidate selection and IND-enabling activities.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead biologics discovery programs from target validation through lead optimization and candidate selection.
- Design, engineer, and optimize antibody molecules using experimental data to guide progression decisions.
- Drive modality selection across antibodies, bispecifics, ADCs, fusion proteins, and fragments.
- Design and execute discovery strategies aligned to Target Product Profiles (TPPs).
- Apply expertise in:
- Antibody discovery and engineering
- Affinity maturation and CDR engineering
- Developability assessment
- Mechanistic characterization and potency optimization
- Design and interpret cell-based functional assays and biophysical characterization studies, including:
- SPR/Biacore
- BLI/Octet
- Binding, potency, and selectivity assays
- Collaborate closely with Computational Biology, Machine Learning, Translational Science, DMPK, Toxicology, and CMC teams.
- Partner with CROs and external collaborators, overseeing study design, data interpretation, and program progression.
- Contribute to scientific strategy and act as a key technical leader within the biologics group.
- Mentor junior scientists and contribute to publications and scientific visibility.
Required Experience
- PhD in Molecular Biology, Immunology, Protein Engineering, Pharmacology, Cell Biology, or a related discipline.
- Significant industry experience in biotech or pharmaceutical biologics drug discovery.
- Proven track record progressing antibody programs through:
- Target validation
- Hit identification
- Lead optimization
- Candidate selection
- IND-enabling studies
- Deep expertise in:
- Therapeutic antibody design and engineering
- Affinity maturation and CDR optimization
- Developability assessment
- Biologics discovery cascades
- Molecule progression decision-making
- Hands-on experience with:
- Cell-based functional assays
- SPR/Biacore
- BLI/Octet
- In vitro pharmacology
- CRO management
- Strong understanding of biologics modalities, including antibodies, bispecifics, ADCs, fusion proteins, and fragments.
- Experience working in highly cross-functional, matrixed environments.
Interested in learning more?
Please contact HLX Life Sciences for a confidential discussion regarding this opportunity.
