Scientist II, Discovery, Frontier Biology

Overview

Scientist II, Discovery, Frontier Biology

About Astellas:
At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed. We pursue innovative science, focusing initially on areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions. We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs guide our development activities at every stage.

Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience. Patient Centricity is a guiding principle for action  believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating patient awareness into everyday work practices, regardless of role, team or division. We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies.

We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their caregivers, to ensure medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes. Beyond medicines, we support stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and standards of care.

This role sits at the heart of our drug discovery work, focused on delivering high-quality bench research and running in vitro and/or in vivo assays that directly shape our pipeline. You'll be hands-on in designing, planning, and executing studies that generate the critical data needed to hit key program milestones. You'll work closely with a collaborative, cross-functional team, maintaining clear and consistent communication with both internal and external stakeholders to keep programs moving forward.

Your responsibilities will include developing, executing, and evaluating in vitro and in vivo study designs to ensure robust, meaningful outcomes. Beyond the lab, you'll play a key role in leading-or contributing to-research program teams, helping to spark new ideas, build smart study plans, run pharmacology studies, and deliver high-value results on time. This role offers the chance to actively engage with global R&D partners and make a real, visible impact on the progression of new drug candidates.

• This position directly impacting our ability to prosecuting company goals of maintaining an early-stage pipeline of potential drug candidates.
• Efficiently and technically competently executing laboratory work designed to advancing early-stage projects.
• Being accountable for the timeliness and quality of individual scientific workload.
• Being accountable for ensuring the integrity of data being generated for scientific projects.
• Keeping behavioural guidelines in mind while acting as a role model for responsibly adhering to team policies, procedures, and guidelines for conducting work.
• Accurately interpreting experimental data, performing statistical analyses, formulating conclusions, and communicating data with colleagues.
• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of experimental data.
• Presenting data at regular internal meetings.
• Reporting to the manager and program lead.
• Demonstrating and evolving pharmaceutical capabilities, including generating new ideas, developing target product profiles, applying pharmacology study expertise, and explaining scientific value at a professional level.
• Exploring cutting-edge technologies and scientific approaches globally and creating new research programs at Astellas through deep understanding of research strategy and high sensitivity to external scientific trends.
• Organizing teams composed of multiple research programs, ensuring alignment across programs, prioritizing initiatives, allocating resources, and scheduling team timelines.
• Entirely and independently leading research program teams by planning actions, conducting pharmacological research, achieving schedules, and actively engaging with stakeholders across R&D, global Astellas divisions, and external partners to create high-value candidates or products.
• Proficiency in cell handling and tissue culture techniques.
• Strong background in molecular biology, including DNA, RNA, and protein-related methodologies.
• Competence in designing, developing, and executing a wide range of in vitro assays and/or in vivo animal models.
• Demonstrated experience in assay development, particularly for novel entities or targets.
• Skilled in in vivo tissue processing and biological sample analysis.
• In-depth understanding of pharmacology, particularly in non-clinical drug discovery research settings.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Strong organizational, time management, and problem-solving skills with scientific attention to detail.
• Able to work productively and to participate in a…