Novartis Posted October 26, 2026

Research Scientist II, Biochemistry

Cambridge (USA), United States FULL_TIME
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About this opportunity

Job Description Summary#LI-OnSiteLocation: CambridgeThis position is located in Cambridge, MA and does not have the ability to be located remotely. Please only apply if this area is accessible to you.Are you ready to help discover new medicines for people living with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases? Join our Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease (CVM) research team at Novartis Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where your work at the bench will advance our understanding of disease biology and help turn scientific insight into transformative medicines for patients.As a laboratory-based in vitro Research Scientist in the CVM Biochemistry unit, you will contribute to target validation, assay development, and drug profiling across exploratory and pipeline projects. You will work with several classes of therapeutic molecules, including small molecules and biologics, and collaborate closely with colleagues across the broader research organization to move our projects forward.

Key responsibilities:Plan and execute biochemical and cell-based assays to support drug discovery.Perform in vitro experiments to support assay development, profiling of therapeutic leads, target validation, and mechanism-of-action studies.Apply core laboratory techniques, including cell culture, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, gene knockdown with small interfering RNA, immunofluorescence microscopy, and Western blotting.Analyze data and document experiments accurately in the electronic laboratory notebook.Present results at lab and department meetings.Assist in writing research documents and scientific publications.undefinedEssential Requirements:Bachelor's or Master's degree in biology, biochemistry, cell biology, or a related life science field (minimum Bachelor's degree and 4+ years of relevant post-graduate research experience).Strong attention to detail, with the ability to quickly learn new techniques.Knowledge of statistics and computational data analysis.Strong communication and creative problem-solving skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a matrixed team environment.Exemplary laboratory practices and record-keeping skills.Flexibility and an aptitude for learning, with a passion for driving groundbreaking science.Desirable Requirements:Experience culturing, differentiating, and genetically engineering (via viral transduction) human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.Research experience in cardiovascular or metabolic disease, such as heart failure, obesity, atrial fibrillation, or atherosclerosis.Novartis Compensation and Benefit Summary: The salary for this position is expected to range between $81,200 and $150,800 per year.The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills andexperience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the publishedsalary range based on company and market factors.Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of therole, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards.US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life anddisability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Cambridge (USA), United States
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 913 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 88 biopharma companies.

913Comparable roles tracked
851Currently active
88Companies hiring similar roles
32Countries represented

Salary context

354 of 913 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.

This roleSubject $81,200/yr – $150,800/yr
Highest disclosed · Vice President, Therapeutics Immunology · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $0 – $381,150 (median $155,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 913 comparable roles

United States626
China46
Germany37
Switzerland30
United Kingdom28
France27

+ 26 more countries

Seniority mix

655 of 913 peers have a known seniority level

Senior216
Principal149
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc70
Associate61
Director61
Associate Director32
Manager27
Senior Director24
Executive/VP15

Therapeutic area mix

124 of 913 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology50
Oncology43
Neuroscience15
Cardiovascular / CVRM9
Respiratory3
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Rare Disease2

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.

40%
Executive Director, Global Product Lead, Immunology Research and Development
AstraZeneca · Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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.