About your role
This is a new position. As Director Drug Discovery, you will set up and lead Candidate Center CCA, and you will have room to shape the lab yourself. You initiate, coordinate and carry out collaborative screening programs with academic groups across CCA. You are responsible from assay development to hit identification, and you remain involved in hit optimization together with other capacity groups.
Activities include:
- Setting up and expanding a state-of-the-art drug discovery lab within the infrastructure of the Candidate Center and CCA
- Developing, validating and maintaining target-based and cell-based screening systems
- Running screens according to current international standards
- Identifying, together with academic groups, projects with high translational potential for drug discovery
- Contributing to the acquisition of grants and external funding
Within the Translational Management Team, you are ultimately responsible for the funding and execution of the Candidate projects. You will have the opportunity to build Candidate Center CCA into a productive, financially self-sustaining screening center, with its own technical team, that delivers multiple new drug leads. You will work towards this with clear, shared milestones: progress is reviewed annually against the Candidate Center KPIs (external funding, invention disclosures, patent applications, and spin-offs or licenses), with an integral evaluation after three years.
About youApplicants bring the following:
- a PhD in (bio)medical sciences, (bio)chemistry, pharmacology or a related discipline;
- work experience in a drug discovery or screening environment, for example in industry, biotech or an academic screening facility, and an understanding of the full drug discovery trajectory, including hit optimization;
- broad expertise in assay design and validation for both target-based and cell-based drug discoveryExperience or affinity with AI-supported drug discovery, for example to prioritize compounds and keep screens focused;
- hands-on experience with biochemical/biophysical assays (e.g. SPR, TR-FRET) and with phenotypic screening, reporter cell lines and high-content imaging;
- experience with acquiring grants or external funding.
We are looking for the following personality traits:
- a proactive individual who enjoys building a new lab from the ground up;
- someone who takes ownership of both the science and the finances, and delivers on commitments;
- commercially and industry-aware;
- a strong connector who brings together academic groups, AI experts and management around shared projects.
Our offer- A new position with room to build and shape a drug discovery lab from the ground up.
- A 1.0 FTE appointment for a period of 3 years. After this period, an evaluation based on the KPI and Go/No-Go framework of the Candidate Center determines whether the contract is extended, for a fixed or indefinite term.
- Classification in salary scale 12: € 6.052 to € 7.684 gross for full-time employment (depending on education and experience). In addition to a good basic salary, we offer 8.3% end-of-year bonus. Calculate your net salary here.
- Holiday hours: 194.4 per year based on full-time employment and possibility to save additional hours.
- 100% reimbursement for public transport travel costs. If you travel by foot, bicycle, or car, a mileage allowance of €0.21 per km applies (up to a maximum of 40 km one way by car).
- Do you prefer walking or cycling? Take advantage of our good bike scheme.
- Pension accrual with the ABP, of which we pay 70% of the premium.
- Free and unlimited access to our online learning environment GoodHabitz.
- An active staff association and Jong Amsterdam UMC association, both of which organize fun (sports) activities and events.
