Associate Principal Scientist – Biologics AI Innovation

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and visionaryAssociate Principal Scientistto driveBiologics AI innovationat AstraZeneca’s US R&D centers inWaltham, MAorGaithersburg, MD. This is a pivotal scientific leadership role focused on integratingstate-of-the-art artificial intelligencewithwet-lab discoveryto accelerate biologics engineering and enable the design of next-generation biotherapeutics. You will work collaboratively across computational and experimental functions, help shape the direction of AI-enabled research, and champion the generation, curation, and translation of high-quality data to power biologics discovery.

Key Responsibilities

As anAssociate Principal Scientist, your main responsibilities will be:

• LeadAI strategies for biologics discovery and engineering, with a strong emphasis onAI–wet-lab integrationand rapid translation of computational insights into experimental design.

• Drivethe development and application of advanced machine learning models, includingprotein language models,structure prediction approaches,de novo protein design methods, andmulti-modal modelsthat integrate sequence, structure, and biological activity data.

• Serve as a scientific leader and bridgeacross AI scientists, computational biologists, protein engineers, and wet-lab teams in the US, while partnering closely with global collaborators.

• Guidethe generation, curation, and effective use of high-quality wet-lab data, and provide feedback to experimental teams to improve data suitability for machine learning workflows.

• Shape technical directionby evaluating and implementing emerging methods and best practices inmachine learning, data science, computational biology, and protein engineering.

• Contribute to an end-to-end ML lifecycle, including problem definition, data preprocessing, data infrastructure, model development, validation, deployment, and iterative improvement in partnership with scientific stakeholders.

• Mentorjunior scientists and contribute scientific leadership within Biologics AI, fostering a collaborative, innovative, and high-performing team culture.

• Communicatescientific progress, technical strategy, and key challenges to stakeholders across disciplines and seniority levels, supporting strategic decision-making.

• Contribute to scientific publications, patents, and external scientific visibility, and represent AstraZeneca through internal and external collaborations, presentations, and partnerships.

Required Qualifications

• PhDincomputer science, machine learning, bioinformatics, computational biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, or a related quantitative discipline, withtypically 5+ years of relevant experiencein academia and/or industry; alternatively, aMaster’s degreewith8+ years of relevant experience.

• Proven experience applyingAI/ML to biological or molecular design problems, with strong relevance toproteins, antibodies, biologics, or related therapeutic modalities.

• Demonstrated hands-on expertise in developing and deployingdeep learningand other machine learning models for one or more of the following:protein sequence modeling, structure-informed modeling, generative modeling, molecular/property prediction, de novo design, or biologics optimization.

• Experience working across thefull machine learning lifecycle, includingdata preprocessing, dataset design, model architecture development, model training, evaluation, deployment, and productionization.

• Demonstrated success in integratingcomputational modeling with experimental workflows, including close collaboration with wet-lab scientists and the use of experimental feedback to refine models and data strategy.

• Strong programming skills inPython, along with experience in modern machine learning frameworks such asPyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar platforms.

• Experience withcloud-based ML environments, scalable data workflows, and/or production ML systems in an academic or industry setting.

• Strong scientific communication and collaboration skills, with a record of influencing cross-functional teams and contributing in matrixed, multidisciplinary environments.

• Track record of scientific innovation and delivery, evidenced by a combination ofpublications, patents, impactful model development, or successful translation of AI methods into experimental or business outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience inantibody, nanobody, or protein engineering, includingde novo designor optimization for developability and functional performance.

• Experience withgenerative models,graph neural networks,Bayesian optimization,active learning, or other advanced approaches relevant to biologics discovery.

• Familiarity withmulti-modal learningapproaches that combine sequence, structure, assay, and other biological data types.

• Experience inscientific software deploymentorproductionalizing ML modelsto support discovery workflows at scale.

• Experience establishing or improvingdata generation strategiesin partnership with experimental teams to enhance downstream ML performance.

• Prior experience mentoring scientists or leading projects inindustrial or academic R&Denvironments.

• Strong external scientific profile, includingpeer-reviewed publications, patents, invited talks, or conference presentations.

Why Join Us?

As part of AstraZeneca’s dynamic US biologics R&D community, you will play a critical role in shaping the future of AI-driven biologics discovery and engineering. Collaborating across cutting-edge computational and experimental teams, you’ll drive innovation that brings transformative medicines to patients around the world. You will be supported by a collaborative, inclusive, and empowering environment, with unparalleled opportunities for scientific impact and personal growth.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $144,648.80 - $216,973.20. Our positions offer eligibility for various incentives—an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles. Benefits offered include qualified retirement programs, paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves), as well as health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.