At a Glance
- Tasks: Collaborate with customers to tailor AI solutions for drug development and improve decision-making.
- Company: Join Perceptic, an innovative AI company transforming drug development.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, options, and a hybrid work environment in London.
- Other info: Work closely with founders and a small team, with significant ownership from day one.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on drug development decisions and shape the future of AI in science.
- Qualifications: Experience in technical problem-solving, coding skills, and strong communication abilities.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
Perceptic is the AI operating system for drug development. We connect evidence, data, decisions, and workflows across the lifecycle, so every insight compounds instead of getting lost across handoffs. Forward Deployed Scientists are how that reaches the people making the calls.
The role involves working directly with our customers: research scientists, clinical teams, and pharma decision-makers. The job is to understand how they reason, what evidence they trust, and where Perceptic can change the decisions they make. You own the work of turning the platform into something that fits a given organization properly, meaning their data, their workflows, their judgment.
A day might involve:
- sitting with a clinical team to map how a go/no-go decision really gets made,
- reading up on their domain,
- designing the evidence model behind their workspace,
- building a plug-in to an internal data source, or
- refining the prompts behind a reasoning workflow.
Then pulling what you've learned back into the product by the end of the week.
You will sit deep inside the product team. What you see in the field becomes the next generation of the platform.
Office Location: Regent St, London (Hybrid, 2-3 days onsite)
Salary: Competitive + Options
What you'll do:
- Embed with customers until you understand their domain, workflows and decisions well enough that they start telling you what's actually broken.
- Define how Perceptic should be configured and extended for each customer: the evidence model, the data sources, the reasoning workflows, and the measure of success.
- Build what's needed to make it real, including plug-ins to internal data sources, evidence and data model implementations, prompt engineering, configurations and integrations.
- Drive adoption, so that people are reaching better-grounded decisions rather than just logging in.
- Take what you see in the field straight into product and engineering conversations, and shape what we build next.
What we value:
- Direct experience working with customers or users on hard technical problems. That might be solutions engineering, applied science, forward deployed work, technical product, scientific consulting or something adjacent. Depth matters more than years.
- Comfort with code, motivated by the outcome. You write Python, work with APIs, build plug-ins and design data models because you want the user on the other end to succeed.
- A sharp sense for the gap between what someone asks for and what they actually need, and the ability to explain that gap clearly to both sides.
- Strong communication across the full range, from a scientist explaining an assay to an engineer reviewing your data model.
- Comfort in ambiguity. Pharma data is rarely clean and requirements are rarely complete. You find the path through.
- Bias to ship. Rough in a user's hands this week beats polished next month.
Nice to have:
- Background or working experience in pharma, biotech or life sciences, whether that's discovery, translational, clinical, regulatory, evidence generation or adjacent.
- Hands-on with LLM tooling, prompt engineering, agent frameworks or retrieval systems.
- Early-stage startup experience.
The team you'd be joining:
Perceptic was built by operators who have deployed AI where it matters. Our team has spent years building and running production AI systems inside some of the world's most complex and sensitive enterprise environments, including Palantir, and years inside the lab publishing the science. We have seen where AI succeeds, where it breaks, and what it takes for a serious organization to trust it. We're now applying that to drug development.
You'd be working alongside the founders and a small product team, with real ownership from the first week and no layers between you and the decisions that matter. We're looking for the best in the industry. Drug development does not reward good enough, and neither do we. We are hiring a small number of people, and each one changes what this company is capable of, so the bar is high and deliberately so.
If you want to be close to the science and close to the build, this is the role to do it.
Forward Deployed Scientist in London employer: Perceptic
At Perceptic, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, fostering a dynamic work culture that thrives on innovation and collaboration. Our team is driven by a shared mission to revolutionise drug discovery through AI, offering employees unparalleled opportunities for growth and ownership in their projects. Located in a fast-paced environment, we empower our engineers to tackle meaningful challenges while enjoying the benefits of a supportive community that values their contributions.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Forward Deployed Scientist in London
✨Get Involved in Local Research Communities
Tap into local biotechnology meetups and research forums. These are great places to mingle with industry professionals, share your passion, and even discover unadvertised job openings. It's all about getting your face known in the field!
✨Leverage University Alumni Networks
If you're a recent grad, don’t underestimate the power of your university’s alumni network! Reach out to alumni working in biotechnology to gather tips about job openings at companies like Perceptic. You'd be surprised how willing people are to help out a fellow grad!
✨Show Off Your Projects
Curate a portfolio showcasing any research projects or internships you've completed in biotechnology. This tangible evidence of your skills can really impress employers when you chat with them at networking events or interviews. It's about making that killer first impression!
✨Stay Up-to-Date with Industry Trends
Biotech is a fast-paced field, so keeping yourself updated with the latest advancements is crucial. Attend industry conferences, webinars, or workshops to broaden your knowledge and meet potential employers. Plus, it’ll give you fantastic talking points for your interviews at places like Perceptic!
We think you need these skills to ace Forward Deployed Scientist in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Lab Skills:In the biotechnology field, it's super important to highlight your lab experience in your CV. Be sure to mention specific techniques or instruments you've mastered (think PCR, gel electrophoresis, etc.) and any relevant projects you've worked on. This will show Perceptic that you have the hands-on skills they need.
Tailor Your Technical Skills:Make sure to emphasise your technical skills, especially those relevant to the biotechnology sector. Include any software tools or programming languages you've used, like R or Python for data analysis, which could be key for this role at Perceptic.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Since this is a full-time role, your cover letter should reflect not only your passion for biotechnology but also your long-term career ambitions. Share why you're excited about the work that Perceptic does and how you envision contributing to their goals. This shows that you’re not just looking for any job, but you're genuinely invested in this opportunity.
Include Your Papers and Projects:If you've published any papers or contributed to significant projects, mention them! These documents can boost your application and provide tangible evidence of your expertise in the biotechnology field. Don’t forget to link to any relevant publications or project summaries—this can set you apart from other candidates.
How to prepare for a job interview at Perceptic
✨Brush Up on Lab Techniques
Since you're eyeing a full-time gig in biotechnology, make sure you're well-versed in the lab techniques relevant to the role. Be ready to talk about PCR, CRISPR, or any specific methods mentioned in the job description at Perceptic. You might even be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these processes.
✨Know Your Bioinformatics Tools
Get comfortable with bioinformatics tools that are commonly used in the industry, like BLAST or Bioconductor. These are key in biotechnology, and having hands-on experience or at least familiarity can set you apart. Prepare to discuss any relevant projects you've worked on, especially if they involved data analysis or genomic research.
✨Show Your Teamwork Skills
Biotech often involves collaboration across multiple disciplines. Be ready to share stories that highlight your teamwork and communication skills, especially in research projects. Think about working with different teams at university or any internships – this is where you can show how well you fit into Perceptic's culture.
✨Research Recent Biotech Innovations
Stay updated on the latest trends and breakthroughs in biotechnology. Knowing what's happening in the field can help you engage in more meaningful discussions during your interview. Bring up recent articles or advancements that excite you, especially those related to the work being done at Perceptic. This shows your passion for the industry!
