Laboratory Scientist – Automation & Biochemistry (full time) Full-time

Laboratory Scientist – Automation & Biochemistry

At Acerta Pharma, part of the AstraZeneca group, we are driven by one mission: transforming the lives of patients with haematological cancers through groundbreaking science and innovative therapies.

As we expand our research footprint in the Netherlands, we are building toward an exciting new chapter, the launch of the AstraZeneca Netherlands R&D hub in Amsterdam in early 2027. Until then, you will work from our state-of-the-art facilities in Oss before transitioning to our new Amsterdam UMC campus location.

This is a unique opportunity to join a growing oncology research organisation at a pivotal moment and help shape the future of oncology drug discovery, developing novel therapies for haematological malignancies.

In this role, you will design, optimize, and execute biochemical assays that support drug discovery projects, while also contributing to the efficient running of automated and robotic platforms. You will work closely with project teams, scientists, and automation specialists to ensure high-quality data generation, smooth workflows, and reliable assay performance.

What you'll do in this role:

• Developing, optimising, and running biochemical assays to support drug discovery programs.
• Executing experiments independently and troubleshooting assay performance where needed.
• Working with automation and robotics platforms (Biomek i7) to support assay throughput, reproducibility, and efficiency.
• Supporting assay transfer into automated workflows and helping improve existing methods.
• Analyzing experimental data and communicating results clearly to project teams and stakeholders.
• Collaborating across disciplines to translate scientific questions into robust experimental approaches.
• Ensuring compliance with internal policies, quality expectations, and laboratory safety standards.
• Mentorship: Provide guidance on assay setup, troubleshooting, and data analysis to junior team members where appropriate.

What do you bring?

• Master's degree or equivalent relevant scientific experience.
• Strong hands-on experience with biochemical / cell-based assays in a drug discovery or research setting.
• Industry experience and/or experience in a screening center is a benefit.
• Experience planning, running, and troubleshooting experiments independently.
• Good understanding of assay principles, data quality, and experimental controls.
• Clear and confident communication skills, with the ability to share findings effectively with colleagues and project teams.
• A collaborative, mature attitude and a strong commitment to working safely and responsibly in the lab.
• You are fluent in English.
• You are prepared to work from our laboratories in Oss until we move to our new site in Amsterdam UMC campus, which is currently planned for early 2027.

Desirable:

• Experience working with laboratory automation or robotics systems (Biomeki7).
• Experience with coding or scripting languages, ideally supporting data handling, assay automation, or process improvement.
• Background in drug discovery, pharmacology, or related biomedical research.

Please note: this role is intended for candidates with a BSc or MSc background. We will not consider candidates that hold a PhD for this role.

Important information:

You are:

• Currently living and working within the EU
• In possession of an EU passport
• Willing to work onsite in Oss until the move to Amsterdam UMC in early 2027

Please note: relocation support is not available for this role.

What do we offer you?

• A dynamic, innovative, international working environment, where you can be part of the development of new medicines that can make a difference to patients' lives

• The opportunity to work in a highly professional, diverse, close-knit team, where you can learn a lot from each other and count on one another

• The opportunity to further develop yourself, for example, into a position offering even more responsibility

• Competitive salary and secondary benefits including 8% holiday allowance, 27 holidays on a fulltime basis. Additional: office closure between X-mas and New Year + Good Friday.

• Collective pension with a fixed percentage personal contribution

• Bonus scheme

• Vitality of our colleagues is important to us, which is why you can exercise at a discount or make use of our bicycle plan.

Share purchase plan: opportunity to participate in our share purchase plan, with additional contributions from AstraZeneca.

• Support for potential extra travelling costs during the transition period when working at the Oss site

About AstraZeneca Oncology R&D, Amsterdam

At AstraZeneca Amsterdam, we bring together two research groups, in haemato-oncology and next-generation cell therapy research. Together, they form our Oncology R&D hub in the Netherlands, working closely with colleagues in the US, Canada, Spain and the UK, to develop innovative treatments for patients with cancer.

Our haematology R&D group was born as Acerta Pharma, one of the Netherlands' greatest biotech success stories. Its small-molecule BTK inhibitor has been approved by both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL). In Amsterdam approximately 100 colleagues continue the development of new therapies for haematological malignancies under the AstraZeneca brand name.

AstraZeneca's Cell Therapy R&D team focuses on developing next-generation T-cell receptor (TCR) therapies targeting neoantigens in solid tumors. With a team of around 75 scientists, we work on both fully individualized and shared neo-antigen approaches, with the aim of improving outcomes for patients with cancer.

Our oncology research and development hub is anchored by our new state-of-the-art laboratories in OneHelix and the adjacent Plus Ultra Amsterdam building, both located on the Amsterdam University Medical Centre (Amsterdam UMC) campus. Our hub is firmly positioned at the heart of the Dutch research community network, creating new opportunities for our people, our science, and the patients we work to transform outcomes for.