Head of Computational Drug Design

We are seeking a Head of Computational Drug Design to lead and scale our computational capabilities across protein engineering, structural biology, and AI-driven drug discovery.

This is a senior leadership role within the Protein & Vector Engineering function, with responsibility for defining computational strategy, driving scientific excellence, and enabling high-impact biologics, chemistry, and genomics programmes. You will work closely with senior scientific leadership and cross-functional teams to deliver innovative computational solutions across the drug discovery pipeline.

What this role offers

• Strategic ownership of computational drug design across multiple therapeutic programmes
• Leadership of AI- and computation-driven drug discovery initiatives
• A highly collaborative, multidisciplinary environment (protein engineering, genomics, data science)
• Opportunity to shape platform development and contribute to publications, patents, and long-term strategy

Key responsibilities

• Define and lead the computational strategy for drug design, molecular modelling, and structural bioinformatics
• Drive the design and execution of advanced workflows (MD, QM, protein & antibody design, AI/ML-enabled CDD)
• Lead, mentor, and develop computational scientists, fostering scientific rigor and innovation
• Build and scale robust, reproducible in-house computational pipelines and best practices
• Partner closely with internal teams and external collaborators to advance therapeutic programmes

What you’ll bring

• PhD in computational biology, computational chemistry, structural bioinformatics, or a related field
• 7+ years’ experience in computational drug design or molecular modelling, including leadership responsibility
• Deep expertise in structural bioinformatics, computational chemistry, and AI/ML applications
• Strong programming skills (Python, R, Bash) and experience with modern scientific workflows
• Hands-on experience with tools such as Schrödinger, MOE, Rosetta, PyMOL, AlphaFold

Nice to have

• Experience with HPC and/or cloud computing environments
• Peptide modelling expertise
• Broad exposure to end-to-end drug discovery programmes