Senior Director of Scientific Model Development for a successful CRO

Do you want a key role driving scientific innovation to the next level?
If you excel in translational disease biology and preclinical model development – and you want to do yourself and your career a big favor – please read on. At Gubra, we have experienced continuous success and growth since our start in 2008. Today, we collaborate with 16 of the top 20 global pharma and biotech companies across the world.

We are now ready for our next major leap forward, and that’s why we need you. We are establishing our CRO as a strong, independent business unit alongside our biotech business, with you in a key role as the CRO’s Senior Director of Scientific Model Development. This is a newly established strategic position with a clear mandate to shape the scientific direction of Gubra’s growing CRO business. In this position, you can look forward to significant impact as well as equally strong development and learning opportunities.

Drive scientific innovation and optimization by bridging science and business
Your overall focus is to help us help other companies develop new medicines smarter, faster, and more cost-effectively – primarily within the following disease areas: obesity, diabetes, MASH, kidney diseases, women’s health, IPF, and sarcopenia. You will achieve this by bridging science and business, ensuring that our preclinical model development aligns with market needs, technological opportunities, and operational capabilities.

To thrive in Gubra’s fast paced and collaborative culture, you must be guided by two core principles: swift decision-making and respectful collaboration. Nearly everything you do will involve close interaction with colleagues from Sales (scientists), Scientific Project Managers, your leadership team peers, and a BoD advisory committee. Your primary tasks will include:

• Acting as the scientific bridge between commercial and operational functions, balancing customer needs with feasibility
• Leading the scientific direction and execution of non-GLP preclinical model development
• Evaluating and implementing new technologies and methodologies to keep Gubra ahead of the curve
• Identifying and initiating new disease areas with high unmet medical need and commercial potential
• Leveraging internal know-how, data, and platforms in model design and validation
• Contributing to optimization of Gubra’s facility setup, including equipment, sourcing, and scientific workflows
• Representing Gubra CRO externally to collaborators, customers, investors, and partners

PhD with an entrepreneurial mindset and a solid track record
We are looking for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where change is the only constant. As the driver of scientific innovation, you must naturally be visionary and able to challenge the status quo.

You must also be comfortable making frequent decisions without having the full picture, while still showing appreciation for others’ perspectives to ensure they follow your recommendations. This also requires very good communication skills and the ability to “translate” complex concepts for audiences with diverse backgrounds. In addition, your CV includes:

• A PhD in a relevant scientific field, ideally within one of Gubra’s key disease areas: obesity, MASH, kidney diseases, women’s health, IPF, or sarcopenia
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the life science industry
• A proven track record in translational research and preclinical model development
• Solid experience with cross-functional collaboration in a commercial setting
• Curiosity about technology and AI – and preferably some hands-on experience using it.

Part of the leadership team
Your new workplace will be Gubra’s headquarters located in Hørsholm, Denmark – naturally with a high degree of flexibility. You will have a small team (potentially in direct reference) but will hold full scientific mandate, working closely with our experienced CRO leadership team, of which you are member. The team includes the Head of the CRO (also CBO), the VP for Pharmacology Research, the Senior Director for Scientific Technologies and Analytics, and the Head of Sales & Marketing.

Contact and application
Please apply at our website using the ”Apply” button no later than January 5, 2025.

If you have any questions, you are very welcome to contact Head of CRO (CBO), Trine Nygaard Hamann at [email protected].

We are look forward to receiving your application.

About Gubra
Gubra is an ambitious contract research organisation (CRO) and biotech company striving for excellence at all levels. We insist on doing things efficiently – and often differently - to reach the results we aim for. Our vision is to become leaders in the fight for a more sustainable and healthier world. We do that by facilitating the discovery of new medicine, and by acting and inspiring others to fight the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises.

Gubra’s activities are focused on the early stages of drug development and are organised in two highly synergistic business areas: CRO Services and Discovery & Partnerships (D&P). We generate our revenue by performing research for life science companies as well as by partnering projects from our discovery and development pipeline.

Our therapeutic focus is within metabolic and fibrotic diseases, and we specialize in in vivo pharmacology, ex vivo assays, drug profiling, histology, stereology and whole brain and organ imaging. In addition, we offer a full palette of advanced transcriptomics. Our ML/AI-driven peptide drug discovery platform streaMLine enables us to rapidly develop a peptide hit into a non-clinical candidate ready for development. Through a constant focus on high quality, scientific excellence, speed, and solid teamwork we have established ourselves as a highly professional and competent partner in the market.

People are our greatest asset, and our team consists of +290 employees all located in Hørsholm, Denmark. The mix of people from different cultures and educational backgrounds combined with our entrepreneurial mindset have greatly impacted our working environment, which is characterized by entrepreneurial drive, scientific curiosity, and teamwork – we join forces!

Department: CBO

Deadline: 05 January 2026

Location: Hørsholm, Denmark