Research Investigator / Senior Research Investigator (In-vitro Pharmacology, Exploratory Sciences), London

Isomorphic Labs is applying frontier AI to help unlock deeper scientific insights, faster breakthroughs, and life-changing medicines with an ambition to solve all disease.

The future is coming. A future enabled and enriched by the incredible power of machine learning. A future in which diseases are curtailed or cured starting with better and faster drug discovery. 

Come and be part of an interdisciplinary team driving groundbreaking innovation and play a meaningful role in contributing towards us achieving our ambitious goals, while being a part of an inspiring and collaborative culture.

The world we want tomorrow is the one we’re building today. It starts with the culture at this company. It starts with you. 

 

About Iso

Isomorphic Labs (IsoLabs) was launched in 2021 to advance human health by building on and beyond the Nobel-winning AlphaFold system. Since then, our interdisciplinary team of drug discovery experts and machine learning specialists has built powerful new predictive and generative AI models that accelerate scientific discovery at digital speed.

Our name comes from the belief that there is an underlying symmetry between biology and information science. By harnessing AI’s powerful capabilities, we can use it to model complex biological phenomena to help design novel molecules, anticipate how drugs will perform and develop innovative medicines to treat and cure some of the world’s most devastating diseases.

We have built a world-leading drug design engine comprising AI models that are capable of working across multiple therapeutic areas and drug modalities. We are continually innovating on model architecture and developing cutting-edge capabilities to advance rational drug design.

Every day, and with each new breakthrough, we’re getting closer to the promise of digital biology, and achieving our ambitious mission to one day solve all disease with the help of AI.

 

About the Exploratory Sciences Team

You will be joining the expanding “Exploratory Sciences” team, focused on tackling proteins which are critical for disease biology, but have been traditionally considered intractable. 

We are a multidisciplinary team within the Drug Design and Medical Research function at Isomorphic Labs. We work where machine learning, chemical biology and drug discovery meet, applying the Isomorphic Labs platform to some of the hardest problems in the field.

Our work goes beyond individual targets. We explore emerging therapeutic modalities, molecular glues and peptides to modalities that don't have a playbook yet. We also design the data generation strategies that make these modalities workable for AI-driven design. The experiments we run don't just move drug-discovery programmes forward - they shape the models that power Iso's drug design engine.

We're as comfortable in silico as we are at the bench. Our scientists build and test hypotheses computationally, use LLM-based agentic workflows in their daily science, and work alongside ML researchers and engineers on Platform builds. We work closely with teams across Isomorphic Labs, so ideas move quickly from model to real world experiments and back again, keeping the goal of  drug discovery and development front and centre.

Above all, we're curious and ambitious, and we care about growth. We put continuous learning and development first, because we're building the next generation of drug discovery scientists. If you want to help define what drug discovery looks like next, you'll fit right in.

Your impact 

We're looking for a talented, hands-on in vitro pharmacologist to join Exploratory Sciences and help turn bold ideas about new therapeutic modalities into robust experimental data.

You'll be the experimental engine behind our exploratory programmes. You'll design, build and run the biochemical, biophysical and cellular assays that tell us whether a new modality works. You'll also help define what good data looks like when there's no established playbook.

You'll make the data count twice. Every experiment you design should move a programme forward and also make our models smarter. Working closely with ML and computational colleagues, you'll help find the places where the platform has blind spots and come up with new assays that fill them.

You'll be part of a new way of doing biology. You'll use LLM agentic workflows and in silico hypothesis building in your everyday science, and help shape the tools you and your colleagues depend on.

Ready to take the next step in your scientific career? Isomorphic Labs gives ambitious scientists a unique place to take on stimulating challenges, push their boundaries and accelerate their personal and professional growth.

 

What you will do 

Assay Development & Experimental Execution:

• Design, develop and run biochemical, biophysical (e.g. SPR/GCI, nanoDSF, Spectral Shift, MST) and cellular assays for novel modalities.
• Generate quantitative data on binding kinetics, ternary complex formation, degradation and functional pathway readouts (e.g. HiBiT, NanoBRET, TR-FRET, AlphaLisa).
• Develop modality specific cellular assays that show target engagement and functional pathway effects, linking molecular data to therapeutic hypotheses.
• Profile novel chemical matter from our in silico design pipelines and interpret results to guide next design cycles.
• Help build and refine screening cascades for internal and partnered programmes.

Data Generation & Quality:

• Generate high-quality, reproducible, ML-ready datasets, applying agreed data quality, ontology and QC standards.
• Propose and test new assays or experimental formats that close gaps in our models.

AI, Agentic Workflows & Platform Builds:

• Use LLM agentic workflows and in silico tools to speed up literature review, hypothesis generation, experimental design and analysis.
• Work with cross-disciplinary colleagues to test in silico hypotheses in the wet lab and feed the results back into the platform.
• Contribute biological insight and user feedback to Platform builds.

Collaboration & External Partnerships:

• Work closely with medicinal chemistry, DMPK, computational chemistry and computational biology to drive SAR and compound progression.
• Design, coordinate and monitor wet-lab studies across the CRO ecosystem, making sure data is delivered on time and to standard.
• Present results clearly to project teams and stakeholders and help shape project decisions.
• Represent the company externally, interacting with existing and prospective collaborators.

 

Skills and qualifications 

Essential:

• BSc, MSc or PhD in a relevant field of biology (Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Cell Biology or a related discipline)
• Extensive experience in the design and implementation of biological screening cascades applied to drug design projects from hit identification to candidate selection phases with relevant post-doctoral or industry drug discovery experience
• Strong hands-on expertise in in vitro pharmacology and/or biophysics, including assay development, optimisation and data analysis.
• Experience with, or a strong interest in, novel modalities (e.g. TPD, molecular glues, peptides, induced proximity).
• Experience with, or clear enthusiasm for, LLM agentic workflows, in silico hypothesis building and data-driven discovery.
• Highly collaborative, adaptable, and motivated by a fast-moving, interdisciplinary environment, with the ability to work across several projects and therapeutic areas.
• Communicates clearly with colleagues from very different scientific and technical backgrounds.

Nice to have:

• Experience working with CROs or external collaborators.
• Experience generating data to validate virtual screens, de novo designs or ML-predicted binders.
• Worked with Data Science groups in setting up systems for ingestion of biological data.
• General knowledge of machine learning modelling applied to biological systems and drug discovery
• Experience with lab automation and high-throughput data workflows.
• Scripting or data analysis skills (e.g. Python, R) or experience building agents or prompts for scientific workflows

 

Culture and values

We are guided by our shared values. It's not about finding people who think and act in the same way. These values help to guide our work and will continue to strengthen it. 

Thoughtful
Thoughtful at Iso is about curiosity, creativity and care. It is about good people doing good, rigorous and future-making science every single day.

Brave
Brave at Iso is about fearlessness, but it’s also about initiative and integrity. The scale of the challenge demands nothing less.

Determined
Determined at Iso is the way we pursue our goal. It’s a confidence in our hypothesis, as well as the urgency and agility needed to deliver on it. Because disease won’t wait, so neither should we.

Together
Together at Iso is about connection, collaboration across fields and catalytic relationships. It’s knowing that transformation is a group project, and remembering that what we’re doing will have a real impact on real people everywhere.

Creating an extraordinary company

We believe that to be successful we need a team with a range of skills and talents. We're building an environment where collaboration is fundamental, learning is shared and every employee feels supported and able to thrive. We value unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, and perspectives, and harness these qualities to create extraordinary impact.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis protected by applicable law. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Hybrid working

It’s hugely important for us to share knowledge and build strong relationships with each other, and we find it easier to do this if we spend time together in person. This is why we follow a hybrid model, and would require you to be able to come into the office 3 days a week (currently Tuesday, Wednesday, and one other day depending on which team you’re in). If you have additional needs that would prevent you from following this hybrid approach, we’d be happy to talk through these if you’re selected for an initial screening call.

Please note that when you submit an application, your data will be processed in line with our privacy policy.

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