Assistant Principal Scientist, Computational Chemistry in Cambridge

At Insmed, every moment and every patient counts — and so does every person who joins in. As a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with serious and rare diseases, you’ll be part of a community that prioritises the human experience, celebrates curiosity, and values every person’s contributions to meaningful progress. That commitment has earned us recognition as Science magazine’s No. 1 Top Employer for five consecutive years, certification as a Great Place to Work® in the U.S., and a place on The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list in the UK.

About the Role:

Insmed Cambridge is looking for an experienced Computational Chemist to join our Chemistry team, working closely with In Silico, Medicinal, Synthetic, and DMPK Chemists. As our go-to technical authority on physics-based tools, you will bring deep computational chemistry expertise to small molecule drug discovery programs from hit identification through to late lead optimisation (LLO). Our team combines expertise in medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug design, cheminformatics, machine learning, and data management. You will bring recognised technical depth in CADD and physics-based methods, alongside strong working knowledge of cheminformatics and machine learning, and will be relied upon to solve the most challenging computational problems facing our programs. As a senior contributor, you will add to our group's computational chemistry capabilities, deliver significant hands-on impact across discovery programs, and provide the technical depth needed to advance our computational drug discovery platform.

What You'll Do:

• Serve as the senior technical expert for computational chemistry, providing hands-on support and deep scientific input across multiple small molecule drug discovery programs, from hit identification through lead optimisation.
• Generate, rigorously test, and champion scientific hypotheses that materially influence compound design and project strategy.
• Design and apply advanced computational strategies that guide medicinal chemistry and improve compound potency, selectivity, and developability.
• Design molecules with the chemistry team, addressing the multi-parameter optimisation challenges common in lead-to-candidate development.
• Use CompChem tools to generate actionable insights from protein structures, e.g. active site analysis and exploration of novel and allosteric sites.
• Apply expert judgement in structure-based and physics-based methods, including docking and pose prediction, Molecular Dynamics (MD), Free Energy calculations, Quantum Mechanical (QM) methods, and water thermodynamic analysis (e.g. WaterMap, GIST, or equivalent).
• Apply and refine cheminformatics and machine learning approaches, including QSAR and ADMET modelling, chemical space analysis, and analogue enumeration.
• Collaborate closely with, and act as a trusted technical partner to, medicinal chemists, structural biologists, DMPK scientists, and compound profiling teams.
• Develop computational workflows and best practices that strengthen the Cheminformatics team's capabilities.
• Evaluate emerging computational methodologies and lead their adoption where they improve scientific productivity and decision-making.
• Present complex analyses with authority and clarity, building confidence in computational approaches across multidisciplinary and senior teams.
• Provide informal technical mentoring, acting as a role model for scientific excellence within the Chemistry team.

Who You Are:

• PhD, or MSc with equivalent industrial experience, in Computational Chemistry, Chemistry, Chemical Physics, Biophysics, or a related discipline.
• Extensive experience applying computational chemistry to small molecule drug discovery in an industrial setting, typically 8+ years post-PhD.
• Demonstrated experience providing computational support across hit identification and lead optimisation for multiple programs.
• Recognised, deep expertise in physics-based computational chemistry, with the credibility to be sought out by colleagues.
• Deep understanding of the principles of medicinal chemistry, structure-based drug design, and predictive modelling, and how to apply them to multi-parameter optimisation.
• Proven experience developing computational strategies that materially influence decision-making during lead development and optimisation.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey complex science and influence multidisciplinary and senior teams through technical credibility.

Desirable:

• Experience integrating physics-based methods with cheminformatics, machine learning, or AI-driven approaches.
• Track record of developing or implementing novel computational methods and workflows adopted beyond a single program.
• Experience with modern CompChem toolkits e.g. Schrödinger or equivalent molecular modelling platforms.
• Active interest in open-source tools e.g. OpenMM, with experience deploying these alongside commercial tools.
• Experience with scalable on-premises (Linux, GPU, HPC) or cloud computational infrastructure.
• Experience with workflow platforms such as KNIME, and building reusable tools that non-specialists can run themselves.
• A strong track record of scientific innovation via publications, presentations, or successful application of new methodologies.
• Experience informally mentoring scientists, contributing technical expertise to computational capability development in a multidisciplinary research environment.

Life at Insmed:

Our research site in Cambridge, UK is situated in brand new labs and offices at the Babraham Research Campus—a leading hub for bioscience innovation and collaboration. Our team of biologists, human geneticists, bioinformaticians, data scientists, computational and synthetic chemists bring together a wide range of technologies and modalities to deliver powerful new ways of treating serious diseases.

At Insmed, you’ll find a culture as human as our mission—intentionally designed for the people behind it. You deserve a workplace that reflects the same care you bring to your work each day, with support for how you work, how you grow, and how you show up for patients, your team, and yourself. Our offerings include:

• Flexible work schedules with purposeful in-person collaboration
• Competitive retirement benefits, global equity awards, and participation in our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Career development through the Insmed Learning Institute, external programs, LinkedIn Learning, and role-specific training
• AI-powered and on-demand learning tools, including a digital assistant to help navigate internal resources
• Hybrid-friendly technology and IT support for seamless teamwork across locations and time zones
• Global recognition programs and Employee Resource Groups

Eligibility for specific programs may vary and is subject to the terms and conditions of each plan.