The AstraZeneca postdoctoral programme supports you to gain experience working within a pharmaceutical organisation while still developing your academic credentials.
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Our 3-year postdoctoral research projects are rigorously selected to offer a positive and challenging scientific experience with opportunity for significant scientific outputs. Apply directly to any current vacancies aligned to your skills, experience and interests. Open vacancies are displayed on this page. Learn more about our postdoc roles and how to apply below.
Postdocs at AstraZeneca
A postdoc at AstraZeneca is a fantastic opportunity to explore a scientific career in industry while continuing to develop your academic credentials.
Our postdocs play a key role in the R&D that underpins everything we do. By exploring innovative areas of research and developing new scientific knowledge, postdocs extend our disease understanding and guide us to new treatment opportunities and therapeutic modalities.
As a postdoc at AstraZeneca you’ll take independent leadership of an exciting and challenging research project. You will join one of our research teams and get to work with leading experts to build your knowledge and progress your work. We will support you to develop as a scientist and produce high quality research outputs.
At AstraZeneca, postdoc projects are funded for 3-years. The majority of our postdocs are based in our Strategic R&D Centres, which are global focuses of our R&D strategy. Each Centre is a cutting-edge research facility with the latest research tools and a thriving research community.
Postdoc projects are proposed by our teams and undergo an extensive review process to ensure that they will be well supported and have the potential to deliver relevant and valuable scientific insights. Through the programme you will gain new skills and experiences, and have chance to explore future career directions.
As a postdoc, you will also be offered a competitive salary and an extensive and flexible benefits package. We also provide support for attendance at scientific conferences.
We are always pushing our R&D productivity to ensure we can deliver the greatest and swiftest impact on disease. As a postdoc you may be based within a cross-R&D expert function, or within one of our disease-focused therapy areas.
Representative data showing the breakdown of postdoc projects across AstraZeneca R&D functions.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for talented scientists that have natural curiosity, established technical skills and a strong belief in the power of what science can do. We particularly look for scientists that are willing to challenge established thinking and who have a record of generating innovative ideas and research techniques.
Our postdocs are for those seeking to build a strong and diverse scientific network, while gaining experience working within the biopharmaceutical industry. You will need a science-based PhD and/or MD with a strong record of research in scientific fields relevant to your chosen project. Most of our postdocs start with 0-4 years of experience post-PhD.
The AstraZeneca Postdoc Programme has recruited people from over 50 different countries (2018-2023 intake).
How to apply
New postdoc projects typically become available throughout the year. Please sign up for our job alerts to be emailed about new opportunities.
You will apply for a specific project via the online application process. If you are interested in more than one project, you should apply to each one separately.
Short-listed applicants will be invited to an initial assessment – this could be via our on-line assessment tool, HireVue or by online/telephone interview. These initial assessments will aid in selection prior to a final panel interview which are typically conducted virtually.
Successful candidates will be offered a start date that is mutually convenient for them and their supervisor, typically within four months of the offer.
Our commitment to inclusion and diversity
We are focused on creating an inclusive and equitable environment, where people feel they belong.
