IQVIA Posted October 1, 2026

Scientist - Analytical and Purification Sciences

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

IQVIA Discovery Sciences is seeking an experienced, innovative, and highly motivated Scientist to join our Analytical and Purification Sciences team at our Cambridge site.

This is an exciting opportunity to work within a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment, where you will play a key role in analysing and purifying a diverse range of small molecules to advance drug discovery programmes for our clients.

The Role

As a Scientist, you will combine strong technical expertise with strategic thinking to deliver high-quality analytical and purification solutions. You will help drive innovation, optimise methodologies, and contribute to the integration of advanced technologies including AI and automation to accelerate DMTA cycles.

This role extends beyond routine execution, offering the opportunity to contribute to future capabilities, challenge existing approaches, and enhance overall analytical performance.

Key Responsibilities

Deliver high-quality analytical and purification data to support compound progression across multiple projects

Develop and optimise chromatographic methodologies for complex and challenging molecules

Apply expertise across UPLC/HPLC, SFC, mass spectrometry, and/or NMR to solve diverse analytical problems

Contribute to innovation in analytical and purification workflows, including plate-based methodologies and/or NMR

Drive the integration of AI, machine learning, and automation within laboratory workflows

Identify opportunities to leverage data science to improve predictive capability, throughput, and decision-making

Demonstrate strategic awareness to help evolve departmental capabilities and future direction

Act as a mentor and role model, providing scientific guidance and supervision to junior colleagues

Take a hands-on role in instrument troubleshooting, maintenance, and optimisation

Candidate Profile

We are looking for a proactive scientist with a strong blend of technical depth, curiosity, and leadership capability:

Proven experience in achiral and chiral automated purification

Strong practical expertise in UPLC/HPLC, SFC, NMR, and mass spectrometry

Demonstrated experience in method development and chromatographic optimisation

Experience applying AI/ML approaches within analytical workflows, data interpretation, or laboratory automation

Hands-on approach to troubleshooting and maintaining analytical instrumentation

Experience with relevant software platforms such as MassLynx, ChemStation, Chromscope, or Trilution (advantageous)

Track record of implementing new technologies or creative approaches to improve performance and efficiency

Experience in scaling methods from analytical to preparative chromatography

Passion for mentoring and developing junior scientists

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Why Join Us?

Work at the forefront of small molecule drug discovery within a global CRO environment

Be part of a team driving innovation in analytical science and purification technologies

Contribute to the adoption of AI, automation, and next-generation workflows

Play a key role in accelerating data-driven decision-making and DMTA cycles

Develop your career within a collaborative, scientifically ambitious environment

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
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 2648 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 168 biopharma companies.

2648Comparable roles tracked
2485Currently active
168Companies hiring similar roles
61Countries represented

Salary context

688 of 2648 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 Not listed on this posting
Highest disclosed · Head of Analytical Development · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $0 – $381,150 (median $121,696)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 2648 comparable roles

United States1279
India155
Germany139
France127
Ireland93
China80

+ 55 more countries

Seniority mix

1242 of 2648 peers have a known seniority level

Senior343
Manager280
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc171
Associate145
Principal94
Associate Director90
Director77
Senior Director35
Executive/VP7

Therapeutic area mix

19 of 2648 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease12
Oncology3
Rare Disease2
Respiratory1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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.

40%similar
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Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

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%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
DT Lead, Single Systems - CMC Development Sciences (UK)
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
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Seqirus Pty · Seqirus UK - Maidenhead, United Kingdom · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
(Fixed Term) Scientist, Immunogenicity, Bioanalytical and Molecular Assays
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd · Oxford, United Kingdom · Seniority not listed
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.