Associate Director, Reinforcement Learning Research

Exscientia is an AI-driven pharmatech company committed to discovering better drugs faster. We were the first company to progress AI-designed small molecules into the clinical setting and developed the first-ever functional precision oncology platform to successfully guide treatment selection and improve patient outcomes in a prospective interventional clinical study. Our pipeline demonstrates our ability to rapidly translate scientific concepts into precision-designed therapeutic candidates, with more than 25 projects underway.

Our ambition is to encode and automate the drug discovery process to help us build a fully automated end-to-end drug discovery technology platform. Reinforcement Learning (RL) is an essential part of our approach to automation and we have already established it successfully in our production processes through applications in the generative design of chemical structures. In the future, as well as continuing to improve upon these existing use cases, we also want to identify novel applications of Reinforcement Learning with the potential to have a significant impact on our drug discovery processes.

We are therefore looking to add an experienced RL researcher to our team, ideally with existing knowledge about the drug discovery domain. In this senior role, you will be using your experience in RL to lead a team within our Technology group and find impactful applications of RL to drug discovery. Together with our other AI research teams, you will help to create, implement and maintain a compelling vision for how we can apply AI to achieve unprecedented breakthroughs in drug discovery.

What you will do

• Define actionable research and development roadmaps to address tangible company objectives with your vision for Reinforcement Learning and AI-driven automation.
• Lead a team of talented research scientists to produce cutting-edge research that will improve the capabilities and scalability of our AI-driven technology platforms.
• Collaborate with stakeholders such as other research scientists, medicinal chemists, and computational drug designers to incorporate their feedback into your team’s plans and priorities.
• Suggest novel RL/ML use-cases and methods that positively impact our drug-discovery processes using your research background.
• Grow your team’s culture and capabilities through effective leadership and active recruiting.
• Keep up with the latest research in relevant scientific fields and analyse its potential impact on our capabilities.
• Interact with the larger AI and RL communities by attending relevant scientific events and writing high-impact publications.

What you will need

• PhD degree in artificial intelligence, machine learning, mathematics, physics, computer science or a related field.
• Proven track record of conducting novel research in the RL space as shown by academic publications, talks and/or commercial applications.
• Understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with RL applied to scientific problems.
• Demonstrable experience in leading a team of scientists to achieve ambitious research goals.
• Desire to supervise and mentor more junior team members.

Beneficial skills and experience

• Good understanding of mathematics and statistical modelling.
• Knowledge in scientific fields such as drug discovery, chemistry, biology, physics and experience in developing novel AI methods to solve related problems in these.
• Experience with generative models, graph neural networks, normalizing flows, transformers, natural language processing, active learning, bayesian optimisation.
• Experience with using Python and PyTorch (or similar deep learning frameworks) to implement deep learning architectures and RL algorithms.
• Experience with agile development methods and goal-setting frameworks (OKRs).
• Experience with bringing models from research prototyping to production.

Reasons for joining us

• Be part of a global network, working together to make a positive contribution to patients by revolutionising the pharmaceutical industry through AI-driven discovery.
• We will work with you to kick-start or further grow your career – from funding for professional development and conference attendance. To the opportunity to acquire valuable skills, work on problems that matter, and learn from world-class technology and scientific leaders.
• Join an inclusive, collaborative and intellectually stimulating culture
• We will work with you to provide a highly competitive compensation as we continue to grow and thrive.
• Our team’s health and well-being is important to us. We offer a generous holiday allowance, provide flexible working and remote working to encourage all of our team to manage their own work, time and life along with wellbeing and mindfulness support.
• When you are in the office, you will have access to a kitchen stocked with an endless supply of food for all employees. Along with access plenty of break out areas so you can get to know the people you are working with. Some of the best ideas start with a coffee break!
• Hear from our team why they enjoy working here