Associate Research Fellow, Primary Pharmacology Group

Why Patients Need You  

 Pfizer’s purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Research and Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer’s purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies and vaccines that matter most. Whether you are in the discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy or supporting clinical trials, you will apply cutting edge design and process development capabilities to accelerate and bring the best in class medicines to patients around the world.  

What You Will Achieve  

 Pfizer is making significant investment in the creation of novel, first-in-class therapeutics for the Pfizer pipeline.  We are seeking an exceptional in vitro pharmacologist and laboratory automation head to join the Primary Pharmacology Group (PPG) at our Groton, CT campus and drive expansion and strategic execution of Pfizer’s internal HTS capabilities for small molecule lead identification across the diverse Discovery & Early Development portfolio. Your work will play a key role in addressing the critical task of rejuvenating the Pfizer research pipeline with innovative, differentiated First in Class programs in the years to come. 
 
As an Associate Research Fellow, you will be at the center of our operations and you’ll find that everything we do, every day, is in line with an unwavering commitment to quality. You will drive the rebuilding of Pfizer’s internal HTS capability within the Discovery Sciences department and its implementation. You will oversee the deployment of capital to assemble a state of the art screening infrastructure and build a dedicated team of scientists with relevant skills to ramp up internal HTS capabilities while leveraging external CROs as required. Thus, this role requires technical excellence in the execution of disease relevant pharmacology approaches to support HTS, laboratory automation, and data strategies. Additional desired areas of expertise include high content imaging or analytical expertise in mass spectrometry.  

The successful candidate will combine strong technical/scientific rigor, strategic planning, leadership and problem-solving skills with a demonstrated ability to build, energize and lead high-performing teams to drive impact across multiple drug discovery programs. This individual should therefore possess exceptional collaborative and written/verbal communication skills, a good sense of humor and be adept at building partnerships. The role will have high visibility across the research organization so an executive presence and ability to gain the respect of stakeholders is key.Through your expertise and extensive knowledge, you will be able to foster a culture that promotes innovation and thrives on doing better for patients and healthcare. 

How You Will Achieve It  

• We are seeking an experienced pharmacologist and automation specialist to build and lead the HTS laboratory to support small molecule drug discovery. The laboratory head will also be responsible for automation and data management and lifecycle strategies within PPG.

• As the HTS portfolio lead, you will be responsible for management, communication, and execution of the HTS portfolio as well as and the strategic vision for HTS moving forward. This will include extracting value from HTS data beyond immediate project needs.   
• This laboratory leader will maintain a ‘cutting edge’ awareness of technical developments and scientific advancements in the field and apply these innovatively to advance internal capabilities. The role includes opportunities to publish when appropriate.
• This HTS lead will lead interdisciplinary team(s) of biologists, medicinal chemists, and protein biochemists to effectively prosecute the HTS portfolio and actively interact with other groups in Discovery Sciences.
• As a laboratory supervisor, a commitment to coaching and guiding professional development is required.

Qualifications  

Must-Have  

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and/or Pharmacology with 10+ years post-degree experience, including industry experience
• Proven ability to build, lead, energize and develop a high-performing team of scientists.
• Demonstrated