Senior Director, Head of Target Discovery

At Genmab, we’re committed to building extra[not]ordinary futures together, by developing antibody products and pioneering, knock-your-socks-off therapies that change the lives of patients and the future of cancer treatment and serious diseases. From our people who are caring, candid, and impact-driven to our business, which is innovative and rooted in science, we believe that being proudly unique, determined to be our best, and authentic is essential to fulfilling our purpose.

The Role

Genmab is seeking a Senior Director, Head of Target Discovery to lead target identification and validation efforts within our Discovery Department. This role is based in Utrecht, Netherlands, and will be highly collaborative across Product Discovery, Translational Research, and Data Science teams. The successful candidate will drive the strategic and operational direction of Target Discovery, ensuring a strong integration of computational and experimental biology approaches in identifying novel first-in-class and best-in-class therapeutic targets for our antibody-based pipeline.

This is a leadership role that requires a scientific visionary with deep expertise in oncology, immunology, and data-driven target discovery, coupled with strong team management and cross-functional collaboration experience. The role will also focus on incorporating cutting-edge computational tools, AI/ML technologies, and multi-omics approaches to accelerate early drug discovery.

You will work in a multidisciplinary, international team of world-class scientists with state-of-the-art knowledge of the antibody and oncology field. The goal is to transform how antibody therapeutics are discovered and optimized using a highly integrated combination of wet lab, computational biology, and bioinformatics approaches.

Genmab is seeking a candidate that can work independently and is motivated, balancing a keen scientific curiosity with a pragmatic can-do attitude and sense of urgency necessary to succeed in drug discovery and development. The successful candidate must be motivated to work in a driven, collaborative, fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Responsibilities

• Create a short-term and long-term vision and strategy for the Target Discovery team.

• You will lead a team (12 FTE) of several scientists and research associates focused on the discovery and validation of novel targets for our early antibody-based product development.

• Provide scientific oversight, strategic and operational leadership for the Target Discovery team to ensure high quality project execution and progression.

• You play an important role in the implementation and expansion of computational tools and systems to support Target Discovery.

• Collaborate with colleagues from Target Discovery and Data Sciences to develop and integrate enabling technology to identify and validate novel targets.

• Collaborate with the Product Discovery teams to ensure timely nomination and prioritization of novel targets for proof-of-concept research and clinical candidate selection.

• Collaborate with various teams within Genmab, including Product Discovery, Discovery Data Science, Antibody Development, Formats, and Materials to optimize workflows, drive data-driven decision-making, and enhance technology application across the organization.

• Collaborate with Translation Research for reverse translational target identification.

• Participate in key decision making related to selecting novel drug targets.

• Establish and cultivate external scientific, clinical and commercial collaborations and establish strategic relationships to enhance Genmab's capabilities, expedite the execution of strategies, and meet organizational needs.

• Play a crucial role in talent management, including the recruitment, retention, and professional development of team members, while also ensuring the communication and documentation of scientific results in patents, publications, and regulatory documents.

Requirements

• You hold a PhD degree in cancer cell biology, immunology, computational biology/immunology field or bioinformatics.

• Minimum of 10-15 years of experience in early-stage biopharmaceutical or biotechnology industry or partly in academia. Prior experience (5+ years) in a leadership role overseeing cross-functional teams is crucial to manage the complexities and the scale of operations in this role.

• You are a true leader and expert in biology, preferably in immunology, oncology and/or drug development. Experience with antibody therapeutics is a plus.

• You have extensive experience in managing teams and get motivated by inspiring people and letting them grow.

• You report scientific results in patents, publications, and regulatory documents.

• You preferably have prior experience with antibody proteomics, sequence analysis, structural biology or other antibody-related computational work.

• You have knowledge and experience with -omics related computational work.

• You are proactive and develop a vision that anticipates emerging organizational needs and act to translate that into an array of technology evaluation pilots, external partnership opportunities, and work streams to advance research and development.

• You have facilitation skills to effectively inform management of key updates and challenges.

• You have published high quality journals, references, and external presentations.

• Excellent communication skills in English.

About You

• You are passionate about our purpose and genuinely care about our mission to transform the lives of patients through innovative cancer treatment
• You bring rigor and excellence to all that you do. You are a fierce believer in our rooted-in-science approach to problem-solving
• You are a generous collaborator who can work in teams with diverse backgrounds
• You are determined to do and be your best and take pride in enabling the best work of others on the team
• You are not afraid to grapple with the unknown and be innovative
• You have experience working in a fast-growing, dynamic company (or a strong desire to)
• You work hard and are not afraid to have a little fun while you do so

Locations

Genmab leverages the effectiveness of an agile working environment, when possible, for the betterment of employee work-life balance. Our offices are designed as open, community-based spaces that work to connect employees while being immersed in our state-of-the-art laboratories. Whether you’re in one of our collaboratively designed office spaces or working remotely, we thrive on connecting with each other to innovate.

About Genmab

Genmab is an international biotechnology company with a core purpose guiding its unstoppable team to strive towards improving the lives of patients through innovative and differentiated antibody therapeutics. For more than 20 years, its passionate, innovative and collaborative team has invented next-generation antibody technology platforms and leveraged translational research and data sciences, which has resulted in a proprietary pipeline including bispecific T-cell engagers, next-generation immune checkpoint modulators, effector function enhanced antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates. To help develop and deliver novel antibody therapies to patients, Genmab has formed 20+ strategic partnerships with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. By 2030, Genmab’s vision is to transform the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases with Knock-Your-Socks-Off (KYSO™) antibody medicines.

Established in 1999, Genmab is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark with locations in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. and Tokyo, Japan.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

We are committed to fostering workplace diversity at all levels of the company and we believe it is essential for our continued success. No applicant shall be discriminated against or treated unfairly because of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. Learn more about our commitments on our website .

Genmab is committed to protecting your personal data and privacy. Please see our privacy policy for handling your data in connection with your application on our website Job Applicant Privacy Notice (genmab.com) .

Please note that if you are applying for a position in the Netherlands, Genmab’s policy for all permanently budgeted hires in NL is initially to offer a fixed-term employment contract for a year, if the employee performs well and if the business conditions do not change, renewal for an indefinite term may be considered after the fixed-term employment contract.