Senior Scientist (Animal Sciences & Technologies)

Senior Scientist (Animal Sciences & Technologies)

Introduction to role

Are you ready to lead high-impact in vivo research that turns preclinical insights into better decisions for patients? Do you see yourself guiding a skilled team to deliver robust, ethically sound data while championing animal welfare and the 3Rs?

As a Senior Scientist, you will direct multiple animal research activities, set the quality bar for study delivery, and mentor colleagues who enable high-quality in vivo science. You will serve as a recognized specialist in laboratory animal science, advising on best practices and emerging developments, and ensuring compliance and operational excellence across the vivarium and laboratories. Your work will power confident, data-driven decisions in early research and translate bold ideas into tangible outcomes for our pipeline.

You will join a collaborative group that values curiosity and practical problem solving. Here, we combine cutting-edge methodologies with deep biological insight, always searching for better ways to run studies, reduce variability, and accelerate learning. Success in this role will come from your ability to collaborate across disciplines, contribute with clarity, and drive continuous improvement without compromising the highest standards of animal care.

Accountabilities

• Team leadership and mentorship: Lead a technical team to deliver day-to-day animal welfare tasks and study support, allocate workloads, coach for technical excellence, and ensure consistent, high-quality execution across routine care and complex procedures.
• Study delivery and data quality: Plan and perform routine in vivo tasks independently, troubleshoot issues, and ensure data are generated to the required standard—reliable, reproducible, and decision-ready for project teams.
• Compliance and documentation: Safeguard legal and ethical compliance for individual and team activities through accurate records, auditable processes, and inspection-ready documentation.
• 3Rs and welfare advocacy: Embed the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement into study design and facility practices, championing humane endpoints, improved models, and refined procedures that elevate animal welfare and scientific quality.
• Continuous learning and innovation: Stay current with advances in laboratory animal science, bring forward new approaches and technologies, and share learning to uplift capability across the team.
• Safety, Health and Environment: Model and enforce safe working practices, complete risk assessments, and maintain a safe environment for people and animals in line with local SHE requirements.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Partner with scientists across disease areas to align in vivo work with project objectives, improve study designs, and shorten cycles from experiment to insight—accelerating the path to patient impact.

Essential Skills/Experience

• High school diploma with 3+ years of experience in study delivery  
• Comprehensive understanding of principles and concepts of laboratory animal science, including an appreciation of relevant science and literature;  
• Proven ability to independently perform laboratory experiments to the required standard on a consistent basis;  
• Demonstrated capability to plan and organize team workloads effectively. 
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced environment while planning work, managing priorities, and meeting timelines.

Desirable Skills/Experience

• A degree in biology or laboratory animal science.
• Experience in drug discovery, disease-area research, or related preclinical research environments.
• Experience in people management

Why AstraZeneca

This is a place where scientific rigor meets real-world impact, and where you will use data and modern models to challenge assumptions and move faster toward answers that matter for patients. You will work shoulder to shoulder with diverse experts—putting unexpected combinations of talent in the same room to unleash bold thinking—while being supported to learn, improve, and try new approaches. We value kindness alongside ambition, celebrate constructive challenge, and invest in technology and capability so you can focus on high-value science. Your contribution will be visible across programs and therapy areas, and the advances you drive in animal welfare, study design, and data quality will ripple through to decisions that change lives.

If you are ready to lead a high-performing in vivo team and turn rigorous science into meaningful patient impact, step forward and shape what comes next.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $108,903 to $163,355. Our positions offer