Does it excite you to work with discovery, design, and development of innovative peptide-based medicines?And do you have experience with protein engineering and characterization? If this sounds like you, and you are ready to take on a broad area of responsibilities, then you could be our new colleague.
Join a leading biotech company bonding to discover, design, and develop innovative peptide-based medicines.
Your new position
We are looking for a Lead Scientist eager to embark on a new career challenge. As a Lead Scientist in protein engineering and characterization, you will take scientific ownership of the expression and characterization of our target proteins for evaluation of peptide–protein interactions to guide compound design, selection, and progression in our discovery pipeline. You will play a central role in designing, expressing, purifying and characterizing variants of the drug target proteins, to support our understanding of how to select peptide candidates for development and understand their interaction with the target. This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute significantly at both departmental and project team levels. You will take scientific ownership of protein expression, mentor colleagues, and contribute to the continuous development of our experimental capabilities. In this role, you will work closely with other researchers to understand the interaction of the target and peptide candidates in relation to binding, kinetics and structure. You will serve as a department representative on one or more multidisciplinary, cross-functional project teams, contributing to project strategy, ensuring interpretation and communication of in vitro data to ensure robust understanding of drug candidates. Zealand Pharma is a dynamic organization with many opportunities to impact projects across all stages of the pipeline as well as your career and the future of Zealand Pharma.
We Offer Exciting Responsibilities
- Lead and execute design, expression, purification, reconstitution and characterization of proteins to support our drug discovery projects.
- Deliver high quality protein and participate in biochemical, biophysical or structural studies to drive the understanding of structure activity relationships and peptide candidate selection.
- Ensure high quality protein and data generation, analysis, interpretation, and reporting – both for internal data and data generated through CROs or partners.
- Provide guidance to cross-functional teams, integrating with both medicinal chemistry, in vitro pharmacology data, and knowledge on metabolism and obesity.
Your profile
Qualifications
We are looking for a candidate with a mindset in line with the Zealand values, possessing most or all of the following qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular pharmacology, Molecular biology, or a related field with at least 6 years of post-Ph.D. experience.
- Strong experience with expression, purification and reconstitution of mammalian membrane proteins.
- Experience and sound understanding of protein quality control, including protein integrity, stability, and formulation impact performance and data interpretation.
- Expertise with peptide–protein interactions on membrane proteins, crude or purified.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in cross functional project teams.
- Experience with working with CROs and partners. Additionally, the following qualifications will be considered an advantage:
- Hands on experience with biophysical platforms like SPR, BLI, ITC, DSF to determine binding affinities and kinetics of compound/receptor interactions.
- Knowledge of Cryo-EM workflow or similar
Your new team
The department consists of 12 scientists and 8 technologists dedicated to advancing research and development projects by generating in vitro pharmacology and biomarker data, and by developing cell based model systems to deepen our understanding of drug mechanism of action. We are organized into two teams to ensure close managerial support and scientific guidance, and we work collaboratively across a broad range of molecular biology, biochemical, biophysical, and cellular assay platforms to support identification, optimization, and characterization of drug candidates.
Let's bond and be bold
We have a unique culture, characterized by excellent teamwork and strong engagement across the organization. And we want you to help us strengthen this culture.
Making bonds is at the core of everything we do. From discovering and developing the best new peptide drugs for patients, to engaging with our partners or connecting with each other. We bond through curiosity and playfulness as a team, allowing ourselves to challenge common thinking and drive future innovation. Join us and let's bond and be bold.
Interested in bonding with us?
Then please apply no later than April 10 2026, or as soon as possible. The applications will be reviewed as they come in. While a cover letter is not required, please include a few sentences in your CV explaining your motivation for applying.
For further information, please contact Head of In vitro biology, Gitte Lund Christensen and Glchristensen@zealandpharma.com.
We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process and welcome applications from all job applicants.
About Zealand Pharma
A/S Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) is a biotechnology company focused on advancing medicines for obesity and metabolic health. Combining more than 25 years of peptide R&D expertise with a proprietary data platform that leverages advanced data-driven and AI/ML approaches, Zealand Pharma aims to lead a new era in obesity and metabolic health. To date, more than ten Zealand
Pharma-invented drug candidates have entered clinical development, of which two products have reached the market and three candidates are in late-stage development. The Company has collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for research, development, and commercialization. Founded in 1998, Zealand Pharma is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a U.S. presence in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.zealandpharma.com.
