Specialist/Senior Scientist - Gene therapy

We are seeking a highly experienced and passionate scientist to join our DNA Technologies team and support our Gene Therapy programs. If you want to make a significant impact on the discovery and development of curative and disease-modifying therapies for serious chronic conditions, and if you thrive in an international, ambitious, and collaborative environment, this opportunity is for you. 
Apply now and be part of our exciting research!

The Position
The DNA Technologies Department within Global Nucleic Acid Therapies is searching for an experienced and highly independent scientist to expand our team. The role will include a diverse set of responsibilities in a team setting and will let the individual take part in the discovery and development of next-generation, transformative gene therapies for patients with debilitating disorders.
In the position, you will collaborate with your team members and our colleagues within the Global Nucleic Acid Therapies area as well as across Novo Nordisk organisation to develop, progress and lead our gene therapy projects. 

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Proactive identification of internal and external project opportunities.
• Effective communication of ideas, project goals and results to team members across functional roles/areas.
• Define and execute innovative scientific strategies, test novel disease-relevant hypotheses and propose transformative therapies.
• Lead or contribute to early research pipeline projects within multidisciplinary teams, including initiating/attending sub-team meetings and organising ad hoc working groups to advance pipeline development and provide technical and scientific guidance for project activities.
• Planning experimental programs to include design, logistics, resource allocation, schedules, and identified critical support needs.
• Expanding the scientific excellence within the area by evaluation & implementation of new and innovative technologies and establishing external partnerships. 
• Review of scientific literature to extract relevant trends and integrate innovative concepts and technologies in the scientific strategy of the department. 
• Inspiring and actively influencing scientific teams as well as external partners. Acting as a subject matter expert and a mentor for less experienced members of the team.

The job title will be decided based on the chosen candidates’ qualifications and seniority level. We welcome candidates of all experience levels to apply and grow with us.

Qualifications
To thrive and succeed in this role, we would expect you to have:

• A PhD in a relevant discipline of Biological Sciences (e.g., virology, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry) with multiple years of post-doctoral academic or pharma/biotech (preferred) industrial research experience. 
• A strong research background in Cell & Molecular biology and/or Protein Biochemistry assay development.
• Experience in taking part in cross-functional project teams and working in a semi-virtual environment, using leadership skills to engage and inspire and ensure project success. 

Moreover, it will be considered an advantage if you have:

• Background and experience in diabetes/obesity/CVD.
• Experience and knowledge of AAV biology and production or experience with viral vectors or recombinant protein purification.
• Knowledge of vector genome design, RNA-Seq and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and assay development.
• Research experience in gene therapy.

As a person, you are motivated to explore new ideas and methods to drive innovation for the benefit of our patients. Taking initiatives, problem-solving tasks and influencing strategies. Strong communicator internally and externally. Thriving in a changing and dynamic work environment with a team player mentality.

About the department 
DNA Technologies is a department with a clear purpose of enabling future applications of gene therapies. The department is a part of the larger organization – Global Nucleic Acid Therapies. We are developing curative and disease modifying therapies for individuals living with serious chronic conditions, spearheaded via co-creational innovation with external partners. Treatment of disease mechanisms operating inside cells, including gene expression is enabled by emerging intracellular drug modalities. Using state of the art technologies, we are building genome editing and RNA capabilities, and establishing viral and non-viral drug delivery platforms, to enable disease-specific design of nucleic acid therapeutics.  

Working at Novo Nordisk 
We are a proud life-science company, and life is our reason to exist. We’re inspired by life in all its forms and shapes, ups and downs, opportunities and challenges. For employees at Novo Nordisk, life means many things – from the building blocks of life that form the basis of ground-breaking scientific research, to our rich personal lives that motivate and energise us to perform our best at work. Ultimately, life is why we’re all here - to ensure that people can lead a life independent of chronic disease.

Contact
For further information, please contact Dinko Relkovic, Director of DNA Technologies, at [email protected].

Deadline
10 January 2025. 

Please note that applications will be reviewed continuously, and interviews will be planned as soon as a suitable candidate is identified. To ensure an efficient and fair recruitment process, please refrain from adding a photo to your CV.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. 

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.