Senior Principal Scientist, Skin Biology and Inflammation

Amgen•South San Francisco, CA

9d•$170,569 - $230,769

About The Position

Amgen is hiring a Senior Principal Scientist to serve as a senior scientific leader in skin biology, shaping therapeutic hypotheses, programs, and capabilities across Inflammation Research. The role connects experimental biology with human data, computation, AI, automation, and emerging technologies to support high-quality decisions from target discovery through early development. The scientist will provide leadership for discovery programs, technology platforms, or strategic initiatives focused on skin biology and inflammatory disease. The role involves defining human-biology-driven hypotheses and integrated experimental and computational strategies; directing complex studies using human tissues and advanced preclinical systems; applying computational and AI-enabled approaches; and partnering across scientific, engineering, clinical, and project teams. The role also guides program strategy and scientific quality, influences broader functional strategy, coaches colleagues, communicates recommendations to varied audiences, and builds external scientific eminence through collaborations and scientific outputs.

Requirements

Doctorate degree (PhD); or PharmD; or MD with relevant postdoctoral experience where applicable and 3 years of relevant experience; or master’s degree and 6 years of relevant experience; or bachelor’s degree and 8 years of relevant experience.

Nice To Haves

Deep expertise in keratinocyte biology, stromal or fibroblast biology, skin inflammation, epithelial-immune crosstalk, wound repair, tissue remodeling, and/or inflammatory diseases of the skin.
Strong record of applying human tissues, disease-relevant cellular systems, organotypic models, spatial biology, single-cell methods, imaging, omics, functional genomics, or perturbational approaches to define mechanisms.
Demonstrated experience using AI-enabled tools, machine learning, computational biology, agentic research workflows, advanced analytics, or data integration to generate and test biological hypotheses.
Ability to identify where technology can substantially improve biological understanding and build partnerships and workflows to turn promising concepts into robust capabilities.
Experience advancing drug discovery programs and understanding connections among target biology, modality, biomarkers, translational strategy, clinical differentiation, and portfolio value.
Evidence of scientific influence beyond an immediate team, such as cross-functional leadership, external collaborations, invited presentations, senior authorship, patents, or other recognized contributions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including framing complex science, uncertainty, and recommendations for technical and senior leadership audiences.
Demonstrated excellence in project leadership and ability to balance scientific rigor, strategic focus, urgency, adaptability, and operational execution.
Commitment to coaching others, sharing knowledge, and building a connected, inclusive, and inspiring environment.

Responsibilities

Provide scientific leadership for discovery programs, technology platforms, or strategic initiatives focused on skin biology and inflammatory disease.
Define human-biology-driven hypotheses and translate them into integrated experimental and computational strategies for target identification, validation, patient segmentation, and differentiated therapeutic approaches.
Design, direct, and interpret complex studies using relevant human tissues and advanced preclinical systems, including primary cells, organotypic cultures, co-culture systems, spatial and single-cell approaches, perturbational biology, and disease-relevant in vivo models.
Apply AI-enabled, computational, agentic, and data-science approaches to synthesize evidence, generate mechanistic insights, prioritize experiments, and improve scientific decision-making.
Partner with computational scientists, engineers, automation experts, translational scientists, human geneticists, clinicians, and project teams to develop integrated datasets and predictive biological models.
Identify, evaluate, and implement emerging technologies for studying skin biology, including next-generation tissue models, imaging, multi-omics, high-content phenotyping, functional genomics, and scalable experimental platforms.
Guide program strategy, milestone definition, experimental prioritization, risk assessment, and resolution of complex scientific issues; ensure scientific quality and delivery against longer-term objectives.
Influence project, departmental, and broader functional strategy by identifying external scientific and technology trends and translating them into actionable opportunities.
Lead and contribute to cross-functional teams, creating clarity and connecting expertise across the organization.
Coach and provide scientific and technical guidance to colleagues while fostering an inclusive, connected, curious, and high-performing research culture.
Communicate scientific strategy, evidence, uncertainty, and recommendations to project teams, senior leaders, governance bodies, and external scientific audiences.
Build external scientific eminence through collaborations, conference participation, publications, patents, and other reviewed scientific or technical outputs.