Mid/Senior Computational Drug Discovery Scientist
Computational Drug Discovery Scientists use modelling and simulation to accelerate early-stage drug discovery. They design and optimize small molecules through computer-aided drug design (CADD) and structure-based modelling.
Core duties:
Running molecular docking, dynamics, and pharmacophore modelling – Using software like Schrodinger, MOE, or OpenEye.
Collaborating with medicinal chemistry and biology teams – Informing compound selection and SAR analysis.
Designing virtual screening workflows – Prioritising libraries and filtering based on predicted properties (e.g., ADMET).
Building QSAR and ML models – To predict compound activity and guide lead optimization.
Contributing to publications and intellectual property – Supporting innovation across internal pipelines or collaborations.
Candidates typically have a PhD in computational chemistry, structural biology, or cheminformatics, with strong coding and visualization skills.
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. Major towns and cities in the North West include Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton, Carlisle, Macclesfield, Knutsford, Blackpool and Warrington.
Cumbria in the north of the region is largely rural whereas the south of the region is much more densely populated. The North West is known as the “Northern Powerhouse” thanks to its strong history in manufacturing. In days gone by the region was particularly famous for its textile industry, but the manufacturing today is based more on food and drink, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and transport. Digital technology, including games and software development, is also a major sector in the region, particularly in Liverpool and Manchester which have both seen huge growth in tech start-ups.
Famous people born in the North West: Wayne Rooney, footballer and Paul McCartney, musician.
North West England is a great place to further your career in life sciences. If you are a looking for pharmaceutical jobs in North West England, scientific careers in North West England or want to discuss cell therapy, gene therapy, ATMP, medical device, technology, biotech or pharmaceutical job opportunities in North West England, give our Next Phase team a call. The North West area is continuing to expand as a centre for jobs in science, process development, technology, software development, project management, informatics, quality, reg affairs and supply chain.
At Next Phase we help people find new jobs in life sciences across the UK, Europe and USA. This page lists some of the job opportunities in the North West, and if you give us a call we can also talk to you about other scientific jobs, pharmaceutical career opportunities and the latest updates in cell and gene therapy and ATMP development in the given area.
