Senior Director, Cellular Assays

About Relation
We are an end-to-end biotech developing transformational medicines, with technology at our core. Our ambition is to understand human biology in an unprecedented way; discovering therapies that will treat some of life's most devastating diseases. We leverage single-cell multi-omics directly from patient tissue, functional assays and machine learning to drive disease understanding, from cause to cure.

We are committed to building diverse and inclusive teams. We strive to create an interdisciplinary workplace that cultivates innovation through collaboration, and we empower each of our team members to do their best work and develop to their highest potential. By joining Relation, you will be part of an exceptionally talented team, you’ll have extraordinary leverage to push the field of drug discovery, and you’ll help us shape our culture and strategic direction. Ultimately, your impact will be felt in patients’ lives.

The opportunity
Cellular and functional biology are central to Relation’s ability to validate targets, interrogate mechanisms of action, and generate the evidence required for programme progression. As part of the proposed new Discovery structure, Relation proposes for a Senior Director, Functional Biology & Cellular Assays to lead all cell-based experimental strategy, innovation, and delivery across the organisation.

This role requires scientific, strategic, and people leadership, overseeing a team of assay specialists and functional biologists, with responsibility for developing robust cellular systems, mechanistic assays, and functional readouts that directly support programme decision-making. Assay teams are deployed to internal and partnered programmes, and this role will ensure scientific excellence, reproducibility, and strategic prioritisation across all projects.

The Senior Director, Functional Biology & Cellular Assays will lead interdisciplinary matrix teams, drive assay strategy, and ensure that cellular biology insights are tightly integrated with profiling, translational science, and computational outputs across Relation’s discovery engine. It will be responsible for shaping Relation’s functional biology and assay capabilities and directly influence the scientific success of programmes across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Functional Biology Strategy
  • Define and lead Relation’s strategy for cellular and functional biology across phenotypic assays, perturbation platforms, mechanistic studies, and disease-relevant models, for both target validation and later drug discovery.
  • Establish scientific frameworks for functional validation, target engagement, and mechanistic interrogation.
  • Shape the evidence model for cellular readouts and how they support target nomination, mechanistic confidence, and programme progression.
• Cellular Assay Leadership
  • Lead development, optimisation, validation, and standardisation of cellular assays supporting multiple discovery programmes.
  • Oversee design, execution, troubleshooting, and data interpretation across all cell-based experimental systems.
  • Partner with Automation & Scientific Operations to ensure assays are automation-ready, scalable, and operationally efficient.
  • Ensure assays are robust, reproducible, and optimally deployed to answer the highest-priority biological questions.
  • Ensure robust pharmacology outputs are delivered for drug discovery based decision making.
• Cross-Functional Scientific Integration
  • Work alongside Molecular Profiling & Sequencing Strategy to integrate functional readouts with molecular signatures and profiling-derived insights.
  • Collaborate with Data Science/ML, systems biology, and computational teams to refine assay design, extract quantitative insights, and build predictive models.
  • Partner with programme leads to define assay requirements, prioritisation, and evidence thresholds.
• Programme Deployment
  • Lead functional biology strategy and execution across internal and partnered programmes.
  • Provide high quality interpretation of assay outputs during governance reviews, strategic discussions, and stage-gate decisions.
  • Ensure functional assays generate clear, decision-enabling evidence for mechanistic understanding, target validation, and preclinical strategy.
• Scientific Rigor & Evidence Generation
  • Establish effective assay performance standards, QC controls, and data interpretation frameworks.
  • Ensure all experimental evidence meets high scientific standards across reproducibility, transparency, and analytical clarity.
  • Champion rigorous scientific reasoning and reproducibility in cellular experimentation.
• Leadership & Influence (Line & Matrix Leadership)
  • Provide line leadership for scientists within the Functional Biology & Cellular Assays group, including performance management, career development, coaching, and recruitment.
  • Build a high-performing, collaborative team culture anchored in scientific excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
  • Lead interdisciplinary matrix teams across biology, profiling, translational science, ML/data science, platform engineering, and programme management to deliver on shared scientific objectives.
  • Ensure clarity across teams regarding priorities, decision criteria, evidence requirements, and timelines.
  • Influence programme and senior leadership with clear, evidence-based scientific recommendations.
  • Mentor scientists in assay design, functional biology, data interpretation, and effective scientific communication.
  • Represent the functional biology domain in governance discussions, technical debates, and Discovery leadership forums.

Professionally, you have

• PhD or equivalent in cell biology, molecular biology, systems biology, or related biological discipline.
• Extensive experience (typically 10+ years) in cellular assay development, functional biology, mechanistic studies, or experimental systems in biotech, pharma, or translational research settings.
• Experience of multiple cell based assay readouts and their applications, including cellular imaging and quantitative PCR readouts.
• Strong track record of leading complex, cell-based assay platforms and functional validation workflows.
• Deep experience of a Quality approach to deliver production cell based assays, as exemplified through a screening leadership role in industry.
• A deep understanding of cellular target drug pharmacology.
• Experience integrating cellular readouts with multi-omics, profiling, or computational frameworks is highly desirable.

Personally, you are

• A collaborative leader who excels in matrixed environments and elevates interdisciplinary teamwork, with demonstrated ability to lead teams through both line management and matrix structures.
• Influential in scientific and strategic decision-making in fast-paced, interdisciplinary environments.
• A functional biology leader who brings scientific vision and rigorous experimental design to complex cellular systems.
• A strategic thinker who designs assays that drive programme clarity and mechanistic understanding.
• Motivated by ensuring high-quality, decision-enabling functional evidence for every programme Relation advances.

Join us in this exciting role where your contributions will have a direct impact on advancing our understanding of genetics and disease risk, supporting our mission to get transformative medicines to patients. Together, we're not just doing research; we're setting new standards in the field of machine learning and genetics. The patient is waiting!