IQVIA Posted September 29, 2026

Principal Scientist - Cardiac Electrophysiology & Translational Ion Channels

Cambridge, United Kingdom Full time
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IQVIA is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Are you the scientific leader who can bridge cutting-edge cardiac models with real-world drug discovery decisions?

Have you built electrophysiology strategies, led multidisciplinary teams, and remained close enough to the science to stay credible at the bench?

Can you translate complex cardiac safety and ion channel data into clear programme direction for clients and stakeholders?

If so, we'd love to hear from you.

We are seeking an exceptional scientific leader to drive and shape our cardiac electrophysiology and translational ion channel strategy.

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced electrophysiologist to combine strategic leadership with scientific innovation, leading multiple drug discovery programmes while maintaining a meaningful presence in the laboratory.

You'll be recognised internally and externally as a subject matter expert in cardiac electrophysiology, helping clients solve complex translational challenges through the application of advanced in vitro and ex vivo models, automated electrophysiology platforms, and stem cell-derived cardiac systems.

The Opportunity

You will provide scientific and strategic leadership across our translational cardiac electrophysiology capability.

Working closely with clients, senior leaders, and multidisciplinary project teams, you will lead programmes from target validation through translational assessment, ensuring delivery of high-quality data that informs critical drug discovery decisions.

You'll play a key role in expanding our cardiac electrophysiology offering, driving innovation, mentoring scientists, and helping shape the future direction of the department.

What You'll Be Doing

Scientific Leadership

Lead and execute the scientific strategy for cardiac electrophysiology and translational ion channel research.

Act as the scientific lead across multiple integrated drug discovery programmes.

Interpret and integrate in vitro, ex vivo and translational data to guide project progression.

Drive innovation in cardiac safety and translational biology approaches.

Maintain awareness of emerging scientific advances and implement new technologies where appropriate.

Provide leadership and oversight for electrophysiology platforms including Qube and MEA systems.

Laboratory & Technical Expertise

Support and guide experimental design, execution and data interpretation.

Lead studies using hIPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and translational cardiac models.

Provide scientific direction across ion channel pharmacology programmes.

Ensure high-quality data generation aligned to client and programme objectives.

Contribute specialist expertise in cardiac safety assessment and translational electrophysiology.

Project & Client Leadership

Lead multidisciplinary project teams across varying scientific disciplines.

Act as the primary scientific contact for clients.

Present project updates, data packages, and strategic recommendations.

Create and manage project plans, timelines, budgets, and resources.

Identify and resolve scientific and operational challenges to ensure successful delivery.

People Leadership

Mentor, develop, and inspire scientists across the department.

Promote a culture of scientific excellence, innovation, and collaboration.

Support recruitment activities and participate in interview panels.

Act as a role model for scientific leadership and professional development.

What We're Looking For

PhD in Biological Sciences, Pharmacology, Physiology, Cardiovascular Science, Biochemistry or related discipline.

Significant industrial drug discovery experience.

Demonstrated expertise in:

-Cardiac electrophysiology

-Cardiac safety pharmacology.

-Translational cardiovascular biology.

- Ion channel pharmacology.

Proven experience leading multidisciplinary scientific teams and programmes.

Strong client-facing and stakeholder management capabilities.

Hands-on experience with:

-Automated patch clamp platforms (Qube/Sophion preferred)

-MEA technologies

-hIPSC-derived cardiomyocytes

-Translational cardiac models

Experience translating complex scientific data into strategic programme recommendations.

Desirable

Experience within a CRO environment.

Manual patch clamp expertise.

Experience across a broad range of ion channel targets.

Significant publication record.

Experience leading scientific strategy across multiple sites or business units.

Why Join Us?

A generous and comprehensive corporate benefits package and bonus....

Shape the future direction of a growing cardiac electrophysiology capability.

Influence key drug discovery decisions across diverse client programmes

Combine scientific leadership with hands-on laboratory involvement.

Work at the forefront of translational cardiovascular science.

Collaborate with industry-leading experts across discovery biology and pharmacology.

Play a visible role in business growth, innovation and scientific excellence.

IQVIA is a leading global provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries. We create intelligent connections to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative medical treatments to help improve patient outcomes and population health worldwide. Learn more at https://jobs.iqvia.com

IQVIA is committed to integrity in our hiring process and maintains a zero tolerance policy for candidate fraud. All information and credentials submitted in your application must be truthful and complete. Any false statements, misrepresentations, or material omissions during the recruitment process will result in immediate disqualification of your application, or termination of employment if discovered later, in accordance with applicable law. We appreciate your honesty and professionalism.

Job details

Seniority
Principal
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Employment type
Full time

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 423 comparable Principal Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 59 biopharma companies.

423Comparable roles tracked
403Currently active
59Companies hiring similar roles
22Countries represented

Salary context

193 of 423 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Primate Behavior Specialist · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $322,000 (median $170,100)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 423 comparable roles

United States315
China22
India19
Germany9
United Kingdom9
Switzerland9

+ 16 more countries

Seniority mix

423 of 423 peers have a known seniority level

Senior210
Principal151
Director62

Therapeutic area mix

50 of 423 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology20
Immunology14
Neuroscience8
Cardiovascular / CVRM5
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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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.

60%similar
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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.

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Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 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.