Hit Discovery/Hit Finding Lead

Internal Job Title: Senior Principal Scientist/Associate Director

Location: Cambridge, MA, onsite

Job Summary:

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced individual to join our team as a Hit Discovery/Hit Finding Leader/Expert. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in enhancing our screening and assay development capabilities, managing automation systems, and driving best practices in hit finding. This position requires strong leadership, collaboration, and mentorship skills to effectively manage and develop our team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage the Hit Discovery goals and deliverables for High-Throughput Biology Home in Cambridge
• Assist in prioritizing key projects within the Hit Discovery portfolio and execute them in collaboration with various partners and steering committees
• Manage automation system owners to enable efficient execution of screening and assay prioritizations
• Mentor and contribute to assay designs and implementation for all screening projects in Biomedical Research Cambridge
• Innovate around screening technologies to maintain a cutting-edge capability for Novartis
• Engage in best practices dialogues and drive their implementation within the Cambridge screening teams
• Develop strong networks with other global screening teams and assist in global resourcing of screening projects
• Oversee the evaluation and implementation of AI tools for HTS and screening applications
• Collaborate with Data Science and other teams to connect to new commercial compound library sets and evaluate their impact on projects
• Demonstrate a proven track record of people management and mentorship as a lab head or initiative leader
• Contribute to the career development of home associates and maintain the culture of HTB Cambridge

Minimum Requirements:

• Ph.D. with 6+ years', or MS with 12+ years’ experience in Industry combined with a strong track record in Early Drug Discovery and Hit Finding for multiple drug modalities
• Expert in pre-clinical assay development with emphasis on Screening, Hit Discovery and automation using wide array of technologies and HTS applications for different drug modalities
• Proven leadership on pre-clinical drug discovery projects and innovation in the field of screening technologies and implementation
• Experience in managing automation systems and implementing best practices in hit finding
• Proven track record of people management and mentorship
• Collaborating across boundaries, strong networking and communication skills
• Ability to develop strong networks and assist in global resourcing of projects.

Desirable Skills:

• Experience with high-content imaging technologies

Why Novartis: Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

You’ll receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion / EEO: The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Novartis Compensation and Benefit Summary: The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $138,600 to $257,400/year for Senior Principal Scientist, and between $152,600 and $283,400 for Associate Director; however, while salary ranges are effective from 1/1/25 through 12/31/25, fluctuations in the job market may necessitate adjustments to pay ranges during this period. Further, final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to geographical location, experience level, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Join our Novartis Network: If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to hear more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network