UCB Posted September 17, 2026

Scientist II or Senior Scientist - Muscle Biology

Durham, North Carolina, United States OTHER
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About this opportunity

Make your mark for patients 

Scientist II or Senior Scientist – Muscle Biology

We are seeking to hire either a Scientist II or Senior Scientist I to join our Muscle Biology team.   This is a wet lab-based position at UCB Biosciences. This position could be based either in Durham, NC or Cambridge, MA.  This is an in-person position with the expectation of being in the lab 5 days a week.   The role contributes at an in vitro technical level to design studies, produce and interpret data and contributes to current and future drug discovery projects.  Skills should include molecular and cell biology knowledge together with previous experience of a range of in vitro-based technology capabilities and screening approaches.

 

Primary responsibilities:

Design and execution of assays/screens to identify and validate novel targets including assessment of relevant biology in screening models, and validation of hits

Development of novel in vitro assays for functional genomics and/or drug development

Provide scientific insight on projects in consultation with UCB on Muscle Biology (medicinal chemists, cell biologists, disease area experts, antibody engineers, etc.)

Provide strong scientific thinking, develop hypotheses and drive scientific learnings on Neuromuscular projects

Education and experience:

For Scientist II - BS, (5-10 years' experience) Masters (1-3 years' experience) or PhD (0-2 years' experience) in applicable field

For Senior Scientist - BS, MS (12+ years' experience) or PhD (5-10 years' experience) in applicable field

1+ years experience in working with in vitro models of muscle cell biology and/or neuromuscular diseases

1+ years experience of applying cellular and biochemical techniques for target identification, validation, genetic screening and evaluating the mechanism of action of novel molecular entities

1+ years experience in molecular biology approaches and advanced cell biology techniques (flow cytometry, gene and protein analysis, PCR, cloning, lentiviral library prep)

Excellent communicator, with demonstrated ability to work across disciplines as well as work independently, manage priorities and engage in a multidisciplinary environment

Preferred experience:

Experience in single cell analysis

Experience in in vivo models for Neuromuscular Disorders

Salary:

This position's reasonably anticipated base salary range will differ depending on level and location.   The actual salary offered will consider internal equity and may also vary depending on the candidate's region, job-relatedknowledge, skills and experience, among other factors.   Here is the breakdown:

Boston-based Scientist II:  $99,200 to $130,200

Boston-based Senior Scientist I:  $117,600 to $154,400

Durham-based Scientist II:  $88,000 to $115,500

Durham-based Senior Scientist I:  $108,000 to $141,800

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

Seniority
Senior
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Durham, North Carolina, United States
Employment type
OTHER

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 448 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 53 biopharma companies.

448Comparable roles tracked
406Currently active
53Companies hiring similar roles
18Countries represented

Salary context

225 of 448 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 Animal Behaviorist - Primate · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Toxicology Senior Research Fellow · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $232,000/yr – $348,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $290,000 (median $165,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 448 comparable roles

United States338
China15
India14
United Kingdom14
Belgium10
Switzerland10

+ 12 more countries

Seniority mix

448 of 448 peers have a known seniority level

Senior234
Principal171
Associate Director43

Therapeutic area mix

49 of 448 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology17
Oncology14
Neuroscience13
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Gastroenterology1
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.

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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.