For over 100 years we have been driving change to defeat diabetes, but we know that what got us here today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future. We are now transforming our business and taking our expertise into new territories including obesity and rare blood and endocrine diseases. 

Our story is one of incredible growth and success, which has culminated in receiving many prestigious awards, such as Best Places to Work and Vitality – Britain’s Healthiest Workplace.

The position

Are you passionate about leveraging AI to drive biological discovery and innovation? We are looking for a Principal Scientist to lead the development of foundation models on biological data, with the goal of accelerating target and biomarker discovery. In this role, you will pioneer the integration of generative AI in Research & Early Discovery, helping to reduce the time from target identification to clinical application.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the exploration and development of foundation models on biological data to enhance target and biomarker discovery.
• Set the strategy for incorporating generative AI into early-stage drug discovery, working closely with cross-functional teams.
• Stay at the forefront of research in deep learning, representation learning, and multi-modal data integration.
• Present findings through reports, presentations, and scientific publications to internal and external stakeholders.
• Foster collaborations with academic and industry partners, particularly in the London Knowledge Quarter.

This is a hybrid role, requiring two days per week in our new London office at King’s Cross.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role, we imagine that you have:

• PhD in AI/ML or bioinformatics with a proven experience in foundation models for life sciences.
• Expertise in multi-modal data integration, including single-cell RNA sequencing, OMICS, and genetics.
• Proficient in Python and deep learning libraries like PyTorch for computational drug discovery pipelines.
• Strong experience with large language models, real-world data, and bioinformatics workflows.
• Familiarity with gene knockdown, drug perturbation experiments, and integrating biological data (e.g., RNA sequencing, protein sequences).
• Demonstrated expertise in publications that delivered tangible impact.
• Skilled in cloud computing services like AWS, Azure, or Nvidia DGX Cloud for large-scale model training and deployment.

About the department

The Machine Intelligence department at Novo Nordisk is at the forefront of integrating AI and machine learning with biological data to drive scientific discovery. Based in London, at the heart of the Knowledge Quarter, you will be part of a team of experts who collaborates closely with academia and industry to push the boundaries of what's possible in target and biomarker discovery. Our dynamic and innovative environment fosters creativity and collaboration, making it an exciting place to work and grow.

Working at Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is its people. We know that life is anything but linear and balancing what is important at different stages of our career is never easy. That’s why we make room for diverse life situations, always putting people first. We value our employees for the unique skills they bring to the table, and we work continuously to bring out the best in them. Working at Novo Nordisk is working toward something bigger than ourselves, and it’s a collective effort. Together, we go further. Together, we’re life changing.

What We Offer

• Bonus: We do our best work to succeed together. When goals are reached, you’ll be rewarded through our bonus scheme.
• Your workplace: Our offices will be your primary workplace but with flexibility to work 2-3 days at home during your working week.
• Pension: a market leading pension scheme with generous employer contributions
• Wellness: We want you to be your best self, so you’ll have access to an award-winning Wellness programme, including Private Medical Insurance.
• Insurances: All colleagues are covered by our private medical, life and disability insurance which provides protection and peace of mind.
• Inclusive culture: our culture is one of care, support and respect for our people.  We are committed to making your workplace safe and believe that a transparent, inclusive culture and leadership is the way to empower every individual to do their very best.

Application support

We are an equal opportunities employer, and we commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.  If you're a person with a disability, if you're neurodivergent, and need any adjustments to be made during the application and selection process, please send an email to Ola, akrw@novonordisk.com. Please include your name, the role you are interested in and the type of adjustment you need. 

Deadline

 Please apply before 2nd November 2024

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. 

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.