Principal Scientist II- Pathology Lab Manager

Band

Level 4

 

Job Description Summary

#LI-Onsite
Location: Cambridge
Internal Title: Principal Scientist II

Manages molecular histology laboratory supporting preclinical toxicological pathology objectives. Participates in and/or leads multidisciplinary teams together with scientists from other units in Novartis; may work with external partners. Leads a lab and/or a project or technology area, integrating independent experimental work to drive achievement of goals with increasing efficiency. Builds increasingly broad scientific/technical/development toolkit for self and team, or deepens own technical/scientific specialty and enables Division community in own areas of expertise.

 

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Serves as the scientific and operational lead for the molecular histology laboratory supporting investigative pathology in preclinical safety studies.

• Provides hands‑on scientific leadership and laboratory management while acting as a senior individual contributor and pathology subject‑matter expert.

• Partners with pathologists an to clarify mechanisms of toxicity, target engagement, biodistribution, and tissue‑specific risk.

• Provides expert guidance on antibody selection, tissue acquisition, probe design, controls, amplification strategies, and assay limitations.

• Manages day‑to‑day molecular histology laboratory operations, including workflow planning, prioritization, and resource allocation.

• Oversees method qualification, documentation, and data integrity, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations.

• Accountable for instrumentation, reagents, vendor interactions, and continuous improvement of laboratory capabilities.

• Drives implementation of new technologies (e.g., spatial transcriptomics, digital image analysis) aligned with PCS strategy.

• Provides direct and matrix leadership to scientists and associates within the molecular histology laboratory.

• Coaches and mentors staff, building technical depth, scientific judgment, and experimental rigor.

• Contributes to workforce planning, capability development, and succession planning within PCS pathology.

• Generates innovative ideas within own team and/or project team/functional community to meet new technical requirements and/or answer project key scientific/technical/development questions.

• Recognizes and leverages innovation opportunities for own team across projects and/or with focus on own area of deep expertise; plans and executes approaches to enable/operationalize strategic focus areas.

• Leads or co‐leads technology, or early development projects or owns broad processes/technologies across multiple projects.

• Influences and inspires own team and/or brings matrix collaborators together across the organization with eye for progressing teams towards decision points and deepening scientific understanding.

• Identifies scientific/technical trends within own discipline that impact projects.

• Actively mentors, trains, and supports career development for own directs and/or matrix direct reports and junior collaborators, especially in own area of deep expertise.

• Develops and recommends objectives for lab unit, together with broader team.

• Gives and accepts constructive feedback, especially to support performance and development of direct reports; speaks up and challenges the norm and guides team to share their work and ideas and/or influences a constructive culture within functional community.

• Empowered to carry out novel research and/or technical activities within team, and/or matrix community surrounding field of expertise, which may involve devising new techniques to advance drug discovery, technology or early development projects.

• May lead or co lead projects; influences and achieves results through own scientific and technical strengths and enables innovative contributions of direct reports and/or matrix team within key projects/initiatives/technology areas.

• Reporting of technical complaints / adverse events / special case scenarios related to Novartis products within 24 hours of receipt

Essential Requirements:

• BS Degree

• 15 years or more experience with GLP, non-GLP, toxicology and digital pathology work-flows

• People Leadership.

• Project Management.

• Collaborating across boundaries.

The salary for this position is expected to range between $119,700 and $222,300 per year.

The final salary offered is