Job Description
365 million people will potentially benefit from current R&D programs at Novartis! If you are a passionate drug hunter dedicated to bringing innovative medicines to patients, you have an opportunity to be part of these breakthrough innovations. We are seeking a unique computational scientist to complement the Computer-Aided Drug Discovery (CADD) team in Cambridge with the skills, experience, and passion to extract new knowledge and disruptive insights from the large and rich body of data. Collaborating with a variety of multi-disciplinary scientists, you will help devise creative solutions to drug discovery problems and innovative paths to new medicines.
Your Key Responsibilities Include:
* Leading medicinal chemistry design efforts through knowledge of SAR, deep understanding of target biology, and application of predictive methods for on- and off-target activity, physical properties, PK/PD and synthetic feasibility.
* Keeping abreast of scientific developments and interacting with internal and external scientists to integrate novel insights into computational approaches for drug discovery.
* Collaborating with interdisciplinary project teams to drive effective decision-making from target identification through candidate nomination by mining and developing predictive models (active learning and ML model development, free energy perturbation or alternate advanced scoring method), in multi-objective fashion.
* Developing, improving, and implementing efficient computational workflows that can be distributed to our global CADD team.
Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:
Novartis embraces diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration, and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
Minimum requirements
What you will bring to the role:
Essential requirements:
* Advanced degree in medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, computational biology, computational chemical biology, or related field. Candidates with lab-based backgrounds in chemistry and biology supplemented with strong computational experience are also encouraged to apply.
* 2+ years of proven experience working in a drug discovery environment with a track record of innovating through analogue design to impact discovery projects.
* A strong publication history in peer-reviewed journals.
* Proactive in anticipating project needs, and acts with rigor and diligence in substantiating ideas, and designing analogues and experiments to address these needs.
* Team focus with “can do” attitude and ability to multitask in both contributor and leadership modes.
* Good listener with strong, concise, and consistent written and verbal communication skills. Proven track record of collaborating with others.
* Experience with modeling tools including structure-based and ligand-based design (Schrödinger, CCG, Cresset, OpenEye) along with working knowledge of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.
* Hands-on experience with proven impact in two or more of the following CADD approaches: QM, QM-derived descriptors, Pharmacophore Development, QSAR/Machine-Learning, Virtual Screening/Docking & Triaging, Molecular Dynamics, Free Energy Perturbation, Multi-Objective Optimization, Library Generation & Analysis and Conformational Analysis.
* Scientific programming experience, including Python, R, Knime and familiarity with analytics, machine learning and statistical analysis.
* Ability to communicate stories through data visualizations, and provide leadership for ad-hoc data analysis, visualization, and statistical support throughout the organization.
Desirable Requirements:
* Familiarity with the foundational concepts in molecular biology, pharmacology, or medicines
* Familiarity with biophysical techniques and assay design.
Why Consider Novartis?
766 million. That’s how many lives our products touched in 2021. And while we’re proud of that fact, in this world of digital and technological transformation, we must also ask ourselves this: how will we continue to improve and extend even more people’s lives?
We believe the answers are found when curious, courageous and collaborative people like you are brought together in an inspiring environment. Where you’re given opportunities to explore. Where you’re empowered to take smart risks, and where you’re surrounded by people who share your determination to tackle the world’s toughest medical challenges.
Imagine what you could do at Novartis!
The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $130,400 and $195,600 however, while salary ranges are effective from 1/1/23 through 12/31/23, fluctuations in the job market may necessitate adjustments to pay ranges during this period. Further, final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to geographical location, experience level, knowledge, skills and abilities. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.
EEO Statement
The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.