Drug Discovery Project Leader II - Small Molecule

Come join our growing and dynamic team! In this role, you will lead high‑impact drug discovery programs from target validation through candidate selection, translating cutting‑edge science into clinical‑ready compounds.

You’ll bring a strong track record of successfully advancing compounds into clinical development, pairing deep scientific expertise with strategic vision and decisive leadership. Working across Oncology, Inflammation, Neuroscience, Metabolism, and Infectious Diseases, you will play a pivotal role in advancing a diverse and growing portfolio of client-driven programs.

As a central driver of DiscoveryOne® integrated drug discovery projects, you will build and lead dynamic, cross‑functional project teams—uniting Eurofins Discovery scientists with our client partners. By harnessing the full breadth of Eurofins Discovery capabilities, you will design, plan, and execute end‑to‑end discovery strategies that deliver meaningful results for our clients—and ultimately, for patients.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work with the Business Development team to consult with the client as to their requirements, research, help prepare and deliver client integrated drug discovery proposals containing, where required, screening cascade/work flow design – requiring interaction with client, BL key stakeholders and key experts from sites within Eurofins Discovery including pricing team.
• Drive the  progress of projects and activities across the relevant sites to ensure timely delivery of data, project milestones and productive relationships with clients.
• Interpret data to enable swift decision making, identify and avoid  future risks to enable achievement of timelines, budgets or  milestones and support the project team in reaching solutions satisfactory to the clients
• Act as the key project contact in regular communications with client’s project matters including scheduling and attending regular project meetings, presenting updates to the client on timelines (Gantt), data delivery, change requests, financial and commercial aspects of the project. 
• Support the maintenance of the relevant project management documents, on-line project trackers (SharePoint) and Gantt Charts to support project tracking.
• Develops resourcing and budget plans to meet client needs
• Develop and maintain an understanding of Eurofins Discovery capabilities and capacity and the wider capabilities of Eurofins Biopharma Services
• Communicate project status and issues to the management and other stakeholders through meetings and key documents (program timelines, budget breakdowns, vendor management, resourcing etc.)
• Interact with clients, industry peers, suppliers as required.  Including customer visits for project meetings and client visits in support of business development.
• Prepare and facilitate the post-project evaluation - ensure lessons learned are shared/implemented across projects and stakeholders as needed, participate in continuous improvement activities.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate:

• Expert user of on-line project and data-management tools (i.e. SharePoint). A background in Medicinal Chemistry, Biology or DMPK - Broad drug discovery expertise from more than 10 years in the industry, covering different therapeutic areas and project phases across multiple target classes and gene families. Track record of leading teams and delivering multiple clinical candidates.
• Higher degree (MSc or PhD) or equivalent in biological sciences or relevant subject. At least 10 years’ experience of drug discovery project leadership in industry – therapeutic area expertise eg oncology/CNS/metabolism/immunooncology
• Strong project planning, leadership, negotiation and communication skills as well as an ability to contribute creative and practical solutions to problems.
•  Excellent organization, communication (oral and written) and attention to detail, committed to quality deliverables and on time 
• Passionate about drug discovery with the ability to inspire effective teamwork and motivate staff to obtain project objectives; matrix team player.
•  Ability to work independently and as part of a team, self-motivation, adaptability, and a positive attitude.
• Resides in CST or EST time zones (as this role will be working closely with team members in the EU)
•  Ability to learn new techniques, perform multiple tasks simultaneously, keep accurate records, and comply with company policies.
•  Advanced computer skills (word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, power point, project management software, Microsoft project, employment of AI tools etc.)
• Travel is required 10% of the time