Amgen Inc. Posted October 9, 2026

Senior Scientist - Precision Oncology

Thousand Oaks, United States Full time
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Amgen Inc. 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

Career Category

Research

Job Description

At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission, to serve patients living with serious illnesses, drives all that we do.

Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline and portfolio of medicines to treat heart disease, obesity and obesity-related conditions, rare diseases, inflammatory conditions and cancer.  As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives.

Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Senior Scientist - Precision Oncology

What you will do

Let’s do this. Let’s change the world.

The Oncology Research organization is seeking a highly motivated Senior Scientist to uncover and translate cancer biology that enables the discovery and advancement of novel therapeutic programs.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to shape experimental strategy for emerging oncology programs, establish compelling evidence for new therapeutic hypotheses, and define mechanisms that support program progression. You will bring creativity and rigor to challenging biological questions with the potential to open new directions for cancer drug discovery.

Working in a highly collaborative research environment, you will partner with multidisciplinary teams across biology, chemistry, computational sciences, pharmacology, and translational sciences to transform biological insight into impactful oncology discoveries.

We are seeking a creative and technically accomplished cancer biologist with deep expertise in cancer cell biology, mechanistic pharmacology, and quantitative experimental design. The successful candidate will combine strong scientific judgment, experimental innovation, and a demonstrated ability to solve complex biological problems.

Key Responsibilities

Design and execute innovative studies to validate oncology targets, test therapeutic hypotheses, and define mechanisms of action in cancer-relevant models.

Apply advanced CRISPR genome-editing technologies to establish target function and genetic dependencies.

Evaluate and apply emerging technologies and AI tools that can accelerate oncology discovery.

Establish quantitative, fit-for-purpose assays to investigate target engagement, pathway modulation, protein function, protein-complex biology, and small-molecule mechanism of action.

Analyze and interpret complex data, communicating findings and biological insights to multidisciplinary discovery and leadership teams.

Collaborate effectively with scientists across the Research organization to solve challenging problems in oncology drug discovery.

What we expect of you

We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. The dynamic professional we seek is a scientist with these qualifications.

Basic Qualifications 

Doctorate degree

or

Master’s degree and 2 years of scientific experience

or

Bachelor’s degree and 4 years of scientific experience

Preferred Qualifications

Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Chemical Biology, or a related discipline, with 1–3 years of relevant postdoctoral and/or industry research experience.

Strong background in cancer cell biology, cell signaling, mechanistic pharmacology, and small-molecule oncology drug discovery, with a demonstrated record of scientific impact through first-author publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and/or patent inventorship.

Subject matter expertise in advanced CRISPR technologies and genome engineering.

Expertise in advanced imaging technologies, including high-content imaging, quantitative microscopy, live-cell imaging, phenotypic imaging, and image-analysis workflows.

Experience developing and applying high-throughput cellular and biochemical assays, including assay optimization, automation-compatible workflows, quantitative analysis, and rigorous quality control.

Excellent experimental design, data analysis, troubleshooting, communication, and collaboration skills.

Demonstrated scientific creativity, innovation, and success in a multidisciplinary research environment.

What you can expect from us

As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, we’ll support your journey every step of the way.

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include:

A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan

Stock-based long-term incentives

Award-winning time-off plans

Flexible work models where possible. Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies.

Apply now and make a lasting impact with the Amgen team.

careers.amgen.com

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Application deadline

External/Internal postings:

Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.

Internal only posting (or Pre-ID candidate):

Amgen anticipates accepting applications until 1 week after the posting; however, we may continue accepting applications beyond this date if we do not receive a sufficient number of candidates.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed.

As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities, consistent with legal requirements. Please contact us to request accommodation.

. Salary Range

127,121.75USD -171,988.25 USD

Job details

Seniority
Senior
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Oncology
Location
Thousand Oaks, 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 195 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 40 biopharma companies.

195Comparable roles tracked
184Currently active
40Companies hiring similar roles
11Countries represented

Salary context

76 of 195 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 · Sr Research Associate, FPD · Gilead Sciences, Inc. $94,945/yr – $122,870/yr
Highest disclosed · Senior Principal Scientist, Pharmacokinetics · Merck $194,100/yr – $305,600/yr
Peer group range $108,908 – $249,850 (median $184,125)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 195 comparable roles

United States160
India11
China6
United Kingdom4
Canada3
Spain3

+ 5 more countries

Seniority mix

195 of 195 peers have a known seniority level

Senior100
Principal71
Associate Director24

Therapeutic area mix

29 of 195 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology10
Neuroscience8
Immunology6
Cardiovascular / CVRM4
Gastroenterology1

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.

100%similar
Johnson & Johnson Spring House, United States Senior
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority Same country
90%similar
Novartis Cambridge (USA), United States Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Same country
90%similar
Celgene - Summit (Corp) Seattle 400 Dexter, United States Principal
Same function Same therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Same country
90%similar
Merck Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Same country
90%similar
GlaxoSmithKline LLC Upper Providence, United States Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Same country
90%similar
Cambridge Discovery Hub Cambridge Crossing, United States Principal
Same function Same therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Same country

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.

100%
Senior Scientist, Discovery- Oncology In Vivo
Johnson & Johnson · Spring House, United States · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
90%
Associate Director, Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics – Immuno-Oncology (QP2‑IO)
Merck · Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
90%
Principal Scientist, Discovery-Oncology
Johnson & Johnson · Spring House, United States · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
75%
Principal Scientist - Discovery Oncology
Roche · Basel, Basel-City, Switzerland · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent 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.