Drug Discovery Leader

Recruitment Consultant @ S3 Science Recruitment | Headhunting, Drug Discovery Recruitment

Employment Type: Full-time

We are seeking an experienced Drug Discovery Programme Leader in Neurology to lead innovative neuroscience programmes from early discovery through to candidate selection. Based in Basel, this role will provide scientific and strategic leadership across multidisciplinary teams, with a strong emphasis on disease biology, mechanism of action and translational relevance.

You will play a key role in shaping programme strategy, ensuring deep understanding of neurological disease mechanisms and driving biology-led decision-making to deliver high-quality development candidates.

• Lead neurology drug discovery programmes from target identification and validation through to candidate nomination
• Define and drive neuroscience biology strategy, including disease mechanisms, pathway biology and mechanism of action
• Oversee design and interpretation of in vitro and in vivo neuroscience models, ensuring translational relevance
• Guide biomarker and translational strategy, including patient stratification where applicable
• Partner closely with Medicinal Chemistry, DMPK, Safety and Translational Medicine to enable biology-led optimisation
• Develop and manage integrated project plans, milestones, resources and scientific risk mitigation
• Serve as the scientific programme lead in governance forums and senior leadership reviews
• Drive clear, data-driven decision-making and ensure scientific excellence across programmes
• Foster a collaborative, high-performance project team culture

• PhD (or equivalent experience) in Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Pharmacology or a related discipline
• Significant experience in neurology drug discovery within pharma or biotech
• Strong expertise in target biology, disease modelling and mechanism-based drug discovery
• Experience with translational neuroscience and biomarker development highly desirable
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional discovery programmes
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence at senior levels

• Opportunity to lead cutting-edge neurology programmes with meaningful patient impact
• Work within a world-class life sciences hub in Basel
• Strong scientific culture with access to advanced discovery platforms
• Competitive salary, benefits and flexible working arrangements