Scientific Associate Director - Safety Pharmacology

About the role

The Scientific Associate Director leads safety pharmacology lab-based activities within the Safety Pharmacology Sciences team and contributes directly to Translational Safety & Risk Sciences (TSRS), the department responsible for nonclinical safety evaluation within Amgen Research. The role reports to the Senior Director of Safety Pharmacology Sciences and covers laboratory leadership, subject-matter expertise and external scientific influence.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the cardiac safety and electrophysiology laboratory, covering ion channel, hiPSC-derived cardiomyocyte and isolated heart assays, and manage exploratory and GLP-compliant studies, including outsourcing, protocol development, data review and report finalization
• Supervise scientific staff, ensure high-quality timely data, study tracking, QC, reporting and stakeholder communication, and maintain compliance with data integrity, safety and environmental standards
• Act as a Safety Pharmacology Subject Matter Expert on TSRS teams, evaluating target- and off-target safety risks in line with ICH guidelines (S7A, S7B/E14) and guiding study design, data interpretation and regulatory filings
• Oversee safety pharmacology strategy across small molecules, biologics and emerging modalities, and coordinate investigative studies with internal and external (CRO) labs
• Build external collaborations with academic, industry and consortium partners, publish peer-reviewed papers and present at conferences, and promote human-relevant in vitro models

Required profile

• Basic: doctorate with 4 years of relevant scientific experience, or master's with 7 years, or bachelor's with 9 years
• Preferred: PhD in Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Physiology, Biomedical Sciences or related field
• Preferred: experience managing outsourced studies and CRO relationships, and as a safety pharmacology SME or toxicology representative
• Demonstrated people leadership and laboratory management experience

Required skills

• Broad experience in in vitro and/or in vivo safety pharmacology across cardiovascular, respiratory and CNS domains
• Cardiac ion channel assays (e.g. hERG, Nav1.5, Cav1.2) and hiPSC-derived cardiomyocyte and isolated heart assays
• Familiarity with GLP-enabling safety pharmacology packages and integration with toxicology studies

What we offer

• Annual salary range posted for the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico), with actual pay depending on skills, experience and qualifications
• Health, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plan with company contributions, and flexible spending accounts
• Discretionary annual bonus or sales-based incentive plan, stock-based long-term incentives, and time-off plans
• Flexible work models where possible