Senior Scientist – SPR (Biophysics)
Location: Cambridge
Company: Talentmark partnering with Nxera Pharma
Talentmark is delighted to be partnering with Nxera Pharma to appoint a Senior Scientist – SPR to join their Biophysics team within the Protein Sciences division based in Granta Park, Cambridge. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge drug discovery programmes, applying advanced biophysical techniques from early hit identification through to development candidate selection.
Company:
Nxera Pharma is a technology powered biopharma company, in pursuit of new specialty medicines to improve the lives of patients with unmet needs in Japan and globally, focused on therapeutic areas in inflammation diseases, neurology and immunology.
The Role:
As a Senior Scientist, you will play a key role in delivering high-quality biophysical data to inform drug discovery decisions, with a strong emphasis on surface plasmon resonance (SPR).
Key responsibilities:
- Perform high-resolution characterisation of protein–ligand interactions using SPR, including kinetic and affinity analysis to support structure–activity relationship (SAR) and mechanistic understanding
- Design and execute fragment-based and small-molecule screening campaigns, including hit identification, validation, and kinetic profiling
- Develop, optimise and qualify robust SPR assays, applying appropriate binding models and data analysis approaches
- Contribute to innovation and continuous improvement in SPR methodologies and the broader biophysics toolkit
- Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary project teams to advance membrane protein targets through the drug discovery pipeline
- Communicate findings effectively through reports, presentations, and cross-functional discussions
Your Background:
- Proven hands-on experience in a drug discovery environment (PhD or MSc with equivalent industry experience)
- Strong expertise in SPR, including experimental design and data interpretation using Biacore platforms (8K experience highly desirable)
- Experience with complementary techniques such as BLI, mass spectrometry, nDSF or fluorescence-based assays is advantageous
- Exposure to membrane proteins is beneficial but not essential
Why Apply:
- Join a highly innovative and collaborative biophysics function.
- Work on scientifically challenging GPCR targets at the forefront of drug discovery
- Play a visible role in shaping programmes from early discovery through to candidate selection
Apply:
It is essential that applicants hold entitlement to work in the UK. Please quote job reference 184629 in all correspondence.