Director - New Modality Chemistry

Do you want be part of a world leading team developing the next generation of respiratory medicines?

Do you want to lead the discovery of peptides and oligonucleotide based therapeutics?

AstraZeneca R&D, Gothenburg, Sweden seek to recruit a Director, New Modality Chemistry in the area of Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity (RIA)

Mission

AstraZeneca is committed to the development of the next generation innovative respiratory medicines. The New Modalities Chemistry team in RIA leads the efforts focused on expanding the use of novel peptide and oligonucleotide based modalities and molecular conjugates in the treatment of respiratory diseases. The New Modalities team achieves this in close collaboration with scientists in the Chemistry, Bioscience, DMPK and Pharmaceutical Science departments - all joined by the goal to discover the respiratory medicines of the future.

Job description

The Director New Modality Chemistry leads a team of scientists in the discovery of peptide and/or nucleotide based drug candidates. As an authority in the field the Director is expected to make significant contributions to define and deliver goals for individual projects in the RIA new modality project pipeline. Through the team, the New Modality Chemistry Director influences the design and synthesis of novel peptide/nucleotide based derivatives as well as provides expert advice in the interpretation of complex data supporting individual projects.

The New Modality Chemistry Director makes a significant impact on multiple projects across and beyond the RIA new modality portfolio. As part of the role the Director will be responsible for the strategy, build and implementation of the new modality platform at the RIA Medicinal Chemistry Department.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

* Focus on leading the development of the strategic vision of the new modality team at the RIA Medicinal Chemistry Department and actively impact the RIA IMED strategy
* Present and inform internal stakeholders as well as the broader scientific community on scientific achievements
* Advise drug project teams, senior leaders, and mentor peers and more junior scientists
* Initiate and lead collaborations with external scientific experts
* Manage performance reviews and salary setting of your direct reports

Requirements and Qualifications

* PhD in chemistry or corresponding experience from relevant field
* In-depth scientific experience and up-to-date knowledge of recent developments in the area of peptide/nucleotide based drug discovery
* Experienced from the use and project application of modern analytical, biophysical, structural chemistry and computational techniques used to progress peptide and nucleotide based projects
* Experience of the pharmaceutical drug discovery and development of new modalities drug candidates

Being a managerial position we think that the successful candidate has excellent interpersonal skills, is approachable, and has the ability to prioritise workload and manage challenging staff situations. Coaching and motivating team members in their scientific development is an important part of the role as is the ability to collaborate in cross functional teams. We also think the role requires excellent written and verbal communication skills. In addition, an ability to engage and collaborate across boundaries with a problem solving attitude and delivery focus.

More information

For more information about the position please contact: Dr. Peter Sjö, Medicinal Chemistry, IMED RIA, mobile +46761037054

Welcome with your application no later than May 15th, 2017.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. In addition to being one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca is proud to provide a unique workplace culture that inspires innovation and cross-boundary collaboration. The Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity (RIA) unit is one of AstraZeneca´s core therapy areas focused on the discovery and development of novel treatments for respiratory diseases.