At Bayer we’re visionaries, driven to solve the world’s toughest challenges and striving for a world where 'Health for all Hunger for none’ is no longer a dream, but a real possibility. We’re doing it with energy, curiosity and sheer dedication, always learning from unique perspectives of those around us, expanding our thinking, growing our capabilities and redefining ‘impossible’. There are so many reasons to join us. If you’re hungry to build a varied and meaningful career in a community of brilliant and diverse minds to make a real difference, there’s only one choice.

Senior Principal Scientist / Director: Drug Discovery - Transcriptomics 

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Drug Hunter with a broad understanding of Drug Discovery and with expertise in Transcriptomics and NGS to join Bayer's Chemical Biology, Imaging and Omics (CBIO) sub-cluster within Drug Discovery Sciences (DDS) at the Bayer Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) in Cambridge (MA, USA). You will be part of an interdisciplinary and cross-continental team of scientists within the R&D organization, leading projects and initiatives across the portfolio and contributing to excellence in early drug discovery. With your strategic mindset and expertise in Drug Discovery and NGS / Transcriptomics capabilities, you will take a leading role in collaborating with the wider Research organization, across departments and geographical sites, to understand and address key scientific questions in drug discovery, including target validation, druggability and lead identification and optimization. With your experience, you will strategically liaise with key partners and will mentor early career scientists in a matrix environment.

YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibilities of the Senior Principal Scientist / Director: Drug Discovery - Transcriptomics are to:

• Act as one of the main experts in NGS and Transcriptomics for Drug Discovery in Bayer R&D
• Lead interdisciplinary teams in drug discovery projects and initiatives across therapeutic areas and contribute to the analysis and critical interpretation of Transcriptomics / NGS data in these projects
• Collaborate with key partners and stakeholders to understand pivotal scientific questions in drug discovery, providing critical insights for go/no-go decisions and advancing our understanding of targets and modalities
• With a drug hunter mindset, identify high impact opportunities, design NGS and Transcriptomics strategies to address scientific challenges and ensure timely execution using our internal and external capabilities
• Provide strategic direction for the integration of NGS and Transcriptomics technologies across the drug discovery programs at Bayer
• Liaise with scientists and leadership across departments at the BRIC to ensure strategic alignment of CBIO and DDS activities and capabilities across geographic sites 
• Mentor and guide early career scientists in a matrix environment
• Contribute to scientific publications and present at conferences to enhance our research visibility and demonstrate scientific excellence

WHO YOU ARE

Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:

Required qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Chemical Biology, Biology, Computational Biology, Systems Biology, Chemical or related Life Sciences with demonstrated expertise in Transcriptomics and strong understanding of drug discovery process
• Track record of leading interdisciplinary teams in drug discovery context
• Demonstrated history of using and integrating NGS and Transcriptomics techniques (RNA-Seq, Ribo-Seq, SLAM-Seq, Drug-Seq, amplicon panels, etc) to generate meaningful insights on target biology, druggability and mechanism of action of molecules in drug discovery projects
• Strong understanding of computational biology and ability to collaborate with dry-lab scientists to extract impactful biological observations  from quantitative datasets through deep understanding of chemical biology, cell biology, and disease biology
• Expert knowledge of programming languages (Python or R) and statistical methods relevant to Computational Biology is a plus
• Problem-solver with a high degree of organizational and logistical independence
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills with demonstrated ability to work effectively in cross-disciplinary teams

Preferred qualifications:

• 8+ years of relevant industry experience

Employees can expect to be paid a salary between $169,680.00 - 254,520.00.  Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission (if relevant).  Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc.

This salary range is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors.

This posting will be available for application until at least 06/09/2026