Snr Scientist II / Principal Scientist, In Vivo Biology & Translational Science

Relation is a sector defining TechBio company developing transformational medicines, with technology at our core. Our ambition is to understand human biology in unprecedented ways, discovering therapies to treat some of life’s most devastating diseases. We leverage single-cell multi-omics from patient tissue, functional assays, and machine learning to drive disease understanding, from cause to cure.

We are scaling rapidly and building a team of exceptional individuals to push the boundaries of drug discovery. You will work in highly interdisciplinary teams where biology, computation, and engineering come together to solve complex problems that have not been solved before. Our state‑of‑the‑art wet and dry labs in the heart of London are designed to accelerate this integration and translate insight into impact.

We are committed to building diverse and inclusive teams. Relation is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, disability, or age. By joining Relation, you will help define how medicines are discovered and deliver meaningful impact for patients.

The opportunity: Relation is offering an outstanding opportunity for a Senior Scientist II / Principal Scientist, In Vivo Biology & Translational Science to help drive our growing discovery portfolio. We are looking for an experienced in‑vivo biologist with a strong track record of independently leading outsourced work packages through CRO partnerships and translating data into actionable project decisions, initially in support of our osteoporosis programme with scope to contribute across indications as the portfolio grows.

Day to day, you will:

• Lead in vivo pharmacology strategy for projects within Relation's discovery programmes, proposing and championing the right study designs to support go/no‑go decisions and milestone planning across multiple concurrent projects.
• Drive the execution, monitoring, and interpretation of in vivo pharmacology studies across target engagement, PK/PD, and disease‑relevant efficacy endpoints.
• Own end-to-end CRO relationships for externally commissioned in vivo work packages: from vendor selection and SOW set-up through in-life liaison, data review, troubleshooting, and reporting.
• Commission in vivo‑relevant in vitro and ex vivo assays, such as target engagement, pharmacodynamic, and mechanistic readouts, that directly inform study decisions and data interpretation.
• Translate biology data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations, communicating findings effectively to project teams and senior stakeholders.
• Maintain rigorous documentation standards across outsourced study packages, including ELN, protocol authoring and review, and study reporting.
• Champion Relation's collaborative, ambitious and science‑driven culture, sharing scientific expertise across the team and helping to build an outstanding drug discovery organisation.

Professionally, you will have:

• A PhD in Biology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, or a related scientific discipline or equivalent experience in industrial drug discovery.
• Deep expertise in mammalian in vivo study design across target engagement, PK/PD, and efficacy endpoints, with the scientific judgement to define the right experiments to drive project decisions, a sound knowledge of 3Rs principles, and a proven record of delivering through CRO partnerships to quality and timeline.
• Experience commissioning or interpreting in vitro and ex vivo assays in support of in vivo programmes, including target engagement, pharmacodynamic, and mechanistic readouts.
• Experience across multiple stages of drug discovery (target ID through candidate selection) and across more than one disease area or physiological system.
• Scientifically rigorous and analytically critical, with the ability to interrogate data, challenge assumptions, and deliver across a broad and fast‑moving project portfolio.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills: able to distil complex biology into clear project‑level insights and influence cross‑functional decisions.
• A deep passion for disease biology and drug discovery, with intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm for tackling complex scientific problems, and a drive to integrate emerging technologies with experimental science.

Bonus experience:

• Experience working across different drug discovery modalities, including small molecules and/or biologics.
• Experience in a TechBio or AI‑driven discovery environment.

Personally, you:

• Are comfortable working in a matrixed environment, balancing multiple stakeholders and contributing effectively across teams.
• Take ownership of your work, proactively seek opportunities to contribute, and enable others to do their best work.
• Communicate openly and directly, give and receive feedback constructively, and handle challenging conversations with respect.
• Actively seek out diverse perspectives, build strong working relationships, and contribute to shared goals across teams.
• Embrace challenges with openness and resilience, set high standards for yourself, and strive to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Working style & Culture at Relation: At Relation, we operate in a matrixed, interdisciplinary environment, where impact is driven through collaboration across scientific, technical, and operational domains. We collaborate, and you will partner with colleagues across multiple teams and projects, contributing your expertise while aligning to shared company priorities. We work together and win together!