About this opportunity
Make your mark for patients
We are looking for a DMPK Lead (m/f/d), who is strategic, collaborative, and scientifically driven to join us in our Research & Development team, based in Braine-L'alleud, Belgium, Slough, UK (Windlesham from 2027) or Monheim, Germany.
About the role
In this senior role, you will provide scientific leadership and expertise in Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) across global discovery and development programs. You will define and deliver DMPK strategies across the full lifecycle, from early research through clinical development and registration, contributing directly to candidate selection, risk assessment, and patient-focused innovation.
You will play a key role in enabling translation from discovery into clinical success across diverse therapeutic modalities.
Who you’ll work with
You will collaborate within multidisciplinary project teams across R&D, working closely with experts in toxicology, clinical pharmacology, drug design, and translational sciences.
You’ll be part of a team focused on advancing innovative therapies for patients, partnering closely with the wider DMPK community to drive scientific excellence and best practice globally.
What you’ll do
Lead DMPK strategy across discovery and clinical development programs
Design and interpret PK, PK/PD, toxicokinetic, ADME, and translational studies
Influence compound design, candidate selection, and risk mitigation
Predict human pharmacokinetics, dose, and drug–drug interaction risks
Contribute to modelling and simulation, including PBPK activities
Author DMPK sections for regulatory submissions and internal documents
Serve as DMPK expert for due diligence evaluations of external opportunities
Provide scientific mentoring and coaching to junior staff
Interested? For this role we’re looking for
PhD in Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, DMPK, or related discipline
Significant industrial DMPK experience across discovery and development
Strong expertise in ADME, PK studies, and human PK prediction
Knowledge of regulatory requirements and submission processes
Experience with modelling and simulation (PBPK preferred)
Proven ability to work effectively in global, cross-functional teams
Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!
About us
UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company, focusing on neurology and immunology. We are over 9.000 people in all four corners of the globe, inspired by patients and driven by science.
Why work with us?
At UCB, we don’t just complete tasks, we create value. We aren’t afraid to push forward, collaborate, and innovate to make our mark for patients. We have a caring, supportive culture where everyone feels included, respected, and has equal opportunities to do their best work. We ‘go beyond’ to create value for our patients, and always with a human focus, whether that’s on our patients, our employees, or our planet. Working for us, you will discover a place where you can grow, and have the freedom to carve your own career path to achieve your full potential.
At UCB, we’ve embraced a hybrid-first approach to work, bringing teams together in local hubs to foster collaborative curiosity. Unless expressly stated in the description or precluded by the nature of the position, roles are hybrid with 40% of your time spent in the office.
UCB is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be made without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable laws.
Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on EMEA-Reasonable_Accommodation@ucb.com. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments; we will not be able to support you through this channel.
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 431 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 58 biopharma companies.
Salary context
154 of 431 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 431 comparable roles
+ 11 more countries
Seniority mix
355 of 431 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
69 of 431 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
Similar opportunities
The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.
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How we calculate "similar"
No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.
Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.
0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.