Principal Scientist, In Vivo Pharmacology

General Scope and Summary

SAGE Therapeutics is searching for a creative, resourceful, and integrative thinker for an important Principal Scientist role in CNS research. This role requires a track record of scientific leadership in drug discovery and nonclinical development, including early research and lead optimization projects. The position will be responsible for developing scientific strategies to support programs across the pipeline, integrating data and information across functional areas to identify key biological and scientific insights, and ensuring seamless communication of these insights across the broader organization to contribute to franchise and corporate-level goals and initiatives. The role requires a very strong team player with excellent critical thinking and communication skills who can deliver exceptional results in a fast-paced and innovative environment. 

Roles and Responsibilities

• Develop creative and innovative research strategies to answer key strategic questions in the R&D portfolio. 

• Drive research and development strategy as a program lead on early research, lead optimization, and/or clinical development teams. 

• Provide scientific leadership as a pharmacology/research representative on early research, lead optimization, and/or clinical development teams.   

• Maintain knowledge of state-of-the-art principles and theories and apply this knowledge to the design, execution, and interpretation of experiments. 

• Design and interpret in vivo pharmacology studies to evaluate the activities of small molecule drug candidates, investigate their mechanisms of action, and explore novel therapeutic hypotheses. 

• Plan, coordinate, and study manage the execution of laboratory research through CROs, including monitoring workflows to enable study execution; this workstream can include investigation, selection, and/or development of new methods and technologies for project advancement. 

• Manage in vivo pharmacology research in a matrixed environment, including an extensive network of CROs, with the goal of effectively communicating data summaries, interpretation, and next steps. 

• Contribute to the preparation of scientific reports for functional review and project teams. 

• Prepare, review, and deliver scientific presentations for internal/external use. 

• Be a recognized expert in CNS research within the organization, providing scientific expertise and communicating key insights across departments to support franchise-level activities and inform key program and portfolio-level decisions. 

• Contribute to execution of research plans through data collection and integrated analyses. 

• Think strategically about drug development and drive innovative solutions to key challenges across the organization. 

• Work collaboratively with internal and external groups, including academic partners and contract research organizations, to execute research strategies. 

• Work cross-functionally to support the internal and external scientific communications strategy. 

• Contribute to the generation of new target identification and validation efforts within the early research portfolio. 

• Provide expertise to inform assessment of discovery-stage business development opportunities. 

• Author high-quality regulatory documents, strategic whitepapers, and scientific publications.  

• Manage stakeholders across the organization and develop collaborative relationships with key opinion leaders to drive results of corporate initiatives. 

Experience, Education and Specialized Knowledge and Skills

Basic Qualifications 

• PhD with 5+ years of experience in neuroscience or related field, or MS with 10+ years of experience. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Scientific or project leadership in a drug discovery environment, including responsibility for managing timelines, budgets, and deliverables. 

• Demonstrated excellence in verbal and written scientific communication through publications and presentations and an aptitude for communicating complex issues in a clear and understandable way. 

• Established ability to create and execute strategic plans, identify and communicate issues, and make recommendations to mitigate risks. 

• Exceptional interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as well as successful experience with stakeholder management. 

• Direct experience with preparation of documents for regulatory filings. 

• Experience working with all levels of management and consulting with key stakeholders.  

• Ability to lead through influence for greater outcomes in a matrixed environment. 

• Strong team player who is solution-oriented. 

• Attention to detail and the ability to work individually, within a multi-disciplinary team, as well as with external partners and vendors. 

• Embrace our Core Values: Put People First, Improve Lives, Cultivate Curiosity, Do Right, and Forge New Pathways.

• Excitement about the vision and mission of Sage. 

All Sage new hires will be required to provide documentation that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or, if not, that they are legally entitled to an accommodation due to a medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief.  Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and Sage will consider, among other things, whether the proposed accommodation would create an undue hardship.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.

EEO is the Law

EEO is the Law - Poster Supplement

We value our relationships with professional recruitment firms. To protect the interests of all parties, and given the large volume of inquiries received from third-party placement agencies, we are not able to respond to all agency inquiries. We do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates for current or future positions. Submission of unsolicited resumes in advance of a signed agreement between our company and a placement agency does not create an implied obligation and, if an unsolicited candidate represented by a placement agency is hired, we are not obligated to pay a fee. Only approved recruitment firms will be allowed to provide services to Sage Therapeutics, Inc.