At Sygnature Discovery, we create exceptional scientific outcomes. For our customers, who bring life-changing medicines to patients; and for our people, who help make this possible. We’re 700+ scientists from over 50 countries, working as one across Europe and North America. With no competing internal programs, we offer total confidentiality and commitment. Over the past 20 years, we’ve earned a track record of real impact: 60+ advanced candidates, 250 patents filed, 200+ active projects. Over 90% of our customers choose to stay with us – from biotechs racing to clinic to pharma companies that need specialised expertise for targeted challenges. About the role: We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior or Lead Software Engineer to join our Computational Sciences and Informatics group at either Alderley Park. This is a hybrid role, with an expectation to be on site 3 times per week. The Senior Software Engineer will design, develop and maintain software platforms that support drug discovery, scientific research and business operations across the organisation. Working within a small, collaborative engineering team, you will engage directly with scientists, informatics specialists and operational teams to understand complex scientific and business challenges and translate them into secure, scalable and maintainable software solutions. Your focus will be on the data and AI side of our work: designing how scientific information is captured, modelled, analysed and made useful, and applying modern techniques such as large language models where they add real value. Experience in drug discovery, life sciences, bioinformatics or cheminformatics would be an advantage, but is not essential. This is a hands‑on role where you'll write much of the code yourself and set the technical direction, and offer guidance to the team. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys taking ownership of a system and working with scientists to develop software that meets their needs. Role Responsibilities: Develop data models, integration pipelines and APIs that stay correct, traceable and fast as data volumes grow. Turn loosely defined scientific and business questions into clear requirements. Use machine learning, natural language processing and large language models to extract, organise and summarise scientific and business information, and measure whether they actually work. Design, deploy and support applications on Azure, contributing to CI/CD, infrastructure as code, monitoring, security and disaster recovery practices. Shape architecture, engineering standards and technical direction while balancing delivery timescales and business priorities. Mentor colleagues, lead code review, and promote automated testing and maintainable design. Help shape the scientific platforms, applications and data solutions that enable cutting‑edge research across Sygnature Discovery. Apply authentication and access control, protect confidential information, encrypt data in transit and at rest, and keep solutions in line with our ISO 27001 commitments. Skills
Senior/Lead Software Engineer employer: Sygnature Discovery
Sygnature Discovery is an exceptional employer located in the vibrant Alderley Park, offering a collaborative work culture that fosters innovation and professional growth. As a Senior Medicinal Chemistry Leader, you will benefit from a supportive environment that encourages mentorship and cross-disciplinary collaboration, ensuring that your contributions directly impact diverse drug discovery projects. With a commitment to employee development and a focus on meaningful work, Sygnature Discovery stands out as a rewarding place to advance your career in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.
