Senior Scientific Manager

At o2h Discovery, we're looking for an experienced Senior Scientific Manager to lead multidisciplinary drug discovery programmes and scientific teams. You will play a critical leadership role in driving scientific excellence, client success, and team development within our discovery platform. This position is responsible for leading a group of scientists, delivering high-quality chemistry solutions to global collaborators, and contributing to the growth of the team.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of 20+ scientists.
• Drive multiple medicinal and discovery chemistry projects with on-time, high-quality delivery.
• Serve as the primary scientific interface for global collaborators and provide strategic technical leadership.
• Optimise resource planning and laboratory utilisation across projects.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless project execution and client satisfaction.
• Ensure compliance with quality systems, laboratory safety, and documentation standards.
• Coach team members through performance feedback, technical development, and succession planning.
• Support business growth through proposals, scientific presentations, and client engagements.
• Drive innovation, operational excellence, and continuous process improvement.

Qualifications

• M.Sc./Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a related discipline.
• Typically 12+ years of relevant industrial experience in a contract research environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary scientific teams and managing complex client-facing projects.
• Strong expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, problem-solving, and project leadership.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to build high-performing teams and deliver results in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

About Company

o2h discovery is a multi-award-winning integrated drug discovery Contract Research Organisation (CRO), headquartered at The Mill SciTech Park, Cambridge, UK, with a world-class research centre in Ahmedabad, India, with over 800+ scientists across synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, analytical chemistry, in vitro biology, DMPK, ADME, PK studies, peptide synthesis, and IND-enabling capabilities.

Founded in 2005 and part of the o2h group, our DNA is centred on seeding new ideas in life science and technology — co-investing, co-creating, and co-executing with our partners. Alongside o2h Ventures (early-stage life science investment) and o2h co-work labs (Cambridge incubation hub), we offer a uniquely integrated innovation ecosystem spanning discovery, capital, and incubation.