Boehringer Ingelheim Posted September 24, 2026

Senior Principal Scientist, Biotherapeutics Discovery, Discovery Acceleration Unit (Ridgefield, CT, United States, Connecticut)

Ridgefield, Connecticut, United States Type not listed
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About this opportunity

Description

Boehringer Ingelheim is seeking a highly skilled Senior Principal Scientist to lead the Discovery Acceleration Unit within the Biotherapeutics Discovery organization in Ridgefield, CT. In this lab head role, the selected candidate will define and deliver innovative tools that support new therapeutic concept ideation.

This role will lead an interdisciplinary team responsible for designing, producing, and delivering innovative tools, including construct design, protein expression, purification, and characterization. As an expert in molecular biology and protein science, the Senior Principal Scientist will guide project teams in selecting fit-for-purpose tools to advance new therapeutic concepts into the portfolio. The role will also propose and implement new R&D and technology goals, develop experimental designs, manage and prioritize multiple laboratory projects, define and communicate tactics to achieve project objectives, plan and conduct experiments, interpret data, and manage and develop scientific staff.

As an employee of Boehringer Ingelheim, you will actively contribute to the discovery, development and delivery of our products to our patients and customers. Our global presence provides opportunity for all employees to collaborate internationally, offering visibility and opportunity to directly contribute to the companies' success. We realize that our strength and competitive advantage lie with our people. We support our employees in a number of ways to foster a healthy working environment, meaningful work, mobility, networking and work-life balance. Our competitive compensation and benefit programs reflect Boehringer Ingelheim's high regard for our employees.

Duties & Responsibilities

•    Lead the Discovery Acceleration Unit in designing, producing, and delivering innovative molecular biology and protein science tools that enable new therapeutic concept ideation and portfolio advancement.

•    Oversee construct design, protein expression, purification, and characterization activities, ensuring tools are fit for purpose and aligned with project goals.

•    Provide scientific and technical leadership to interdisciplinary project teams, guiding the selection and application of appropriate tools, technologies, and experimental strategies.

•    Propose, evaluate, and implement new R&D and technology goals that strengthen discovery capabilities and support the advancement of multiple therapeutic programs.

•    Develop experimental plans, prioritize and manage multiple laboratory projects, interpret complex data, and translate findings into actionable recommendations.

•    Communicate strategies, progress, results, and risks clearly through technical reports, presentations, and updates to project teams and senior leadership.

•    Serve as a subject-matter expert in molecular biology, protein science, and biotherapeutic discovery, maintaining awareness of emerging literature, technologies, and best practices.

•    Recruit, mentor, manage, and develop scientific staff while fostering a collaborative, safe, inclusive, and high-performing laboratory environment.

•    Ensure all work is conducted in compliance with applicable regulations, SOPs, safety standards, and company policies; maintain accurate records and support budget and resource planning as needed.

Requirements

•    Ph.D. in biochemistry, protein chemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, structural biology, biophysics, or a related discipline, with five (5) or more years of relevant industry experience, or equivalent experience.

•    At least Four (4) years to 6 years of leadership and project management experience

•    Demonstrated expertise in antibody engineering, including therapeutic antibody design, construct generation, antibody fragment or multispecific format engineering, affinity maturation, and developability optimization.

•    Hands-on experience applying molecular biology, protein expression, purification, and characterization approaches to engineer, screen, and optimize antibodies or antibody-based therapeutics.

•    Strong understanding of end-to-end protein production workflows, including construct design, selection of appropriate expression systems, transient and/or stable protein expression, purification strategy, analytical characterization, reagent quality requirements, and fit-for-purpose delivery for antibody discovery and biotherapeutic research.

•    Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing in an inter-disciplinary environment

Eligibility Requirements:

•    Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without restriction.

•    Must be willing to submit to a background investigation, including verification of your past employment, criminal history, and educational background.

•    Must be willing to take a drug test and post-offer physical (if required).

•    Must be 18 years of age or older.

Compensation Data

The base salary range for this position is $166,600 to $250,000. The position may be eligible for a role-specific discretionary bonus, relocation assistance, and/or other compensation elements. We continuously review market data and may adjust salary ranges as needed in the future. Actual compensation will be based on job-related factors such as skills, experience, qualifications, and other factors permitted by law. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, retirement savings opportunities, paid time off, paid holidays, disability and life insurance benefits, and other company-sponsored benefits. For additional information regarding our benefits and Total Rewards offerings, please click  here .

Job details

Seniority
Principal
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Ridgefield, Connecticut, United States
Employment type
Not listed

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 425 comparable Principal Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 58 biopharma companies.

425Comparable roles tracked
404Currently active
58Companies hiring similar roles
22Countries represented

Salary context

195 of 425 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 $166,600/yr – $250,000/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Primate Behavior Specialist · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $322,000 (median $163,500)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 425 comparable roles

United States321
China22
India17
United Kingdom8
Switzerland8
Germany6

+ 16 more countries

Seniority mix

425 of 425 peers have a known seniority level

Senior216
Principal148
Director61

Therapeutic area mix

52 of 425 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology20
Immunology16
Neuroscience9
Cardiovascular / CVRM5
Vaccines & Infectious 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.

60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Principal
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60%similar
AbbVie San Francisco, CA Principal
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AbbVie Worcester, MA Principal
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Notify me about similar jobs

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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.

60%
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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.