Scientist Oncology Research

About the role

At Amgen, our shared mission—to serve patients living with serious illnesses—drives all that we do. Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With a focus on four therapeutic areas – Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease – we reach millions of patients each year. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity-related conditions. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller, happier lives. Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Responsibilities

• Discover and validate novel oncology targets and advance the next generation of small-molecule therapeutics.
• Develop and conduct in vitro studies to investigate target biology, evaluate mechanisms of action and assess early-stage therapeutic molecules.
• Generate high-quality, actionable data to guide target validation and drug discovery decisions.
• Use scientific literature and relevant databases to identify and assess emerging target hypotheses, helping guide target ideation and validation.
• Maintain thorough, timely research records, communicate findings at internal and external forums, and contribute data and writing to peer-reviewed publications.

Requirements

• Doctorate degree; OR Master’s degree and 2 years of relevant laboratory experience; OR Bachelor’s degree and 4 years of relevant laboratory experience.

Skills

• Advanced degree and training in cancer biology or a related field, with background in cancer signaling pathways and the cell cycle (preferred).
• Strong skillset of standard cell and molecular biology experimental design and techniques (e.g., cell culture, western blotting, immunofluorescence, qPCR, flow cytometry, etc.).
• Experience with high-throughput assays (e.g., CTG, AlphaLISA, MSD) is a plus.
• Mammalian cell culture work required; relevant experience highly desired.
• Experience with modern techniques for assaying gene function (e.g., RNAi and CRISPR approaches), especially lentivirus preparation and utilization.
• Familiarity with genomic data analysis suites (e.g., DepMap, cBioPortal, OmicsSoft) and AI-enabled tools for scientific research and data analysis (e.g., CODEX).
• Experience in target identification and validation or supporting the early stages of drug discovery.
• Track record of independent critical thinking and scientific achievement, supported by publications and/or significant contributions to a drug discovery program.

Benefits

• Comprehensive employee benefits package including retirement and savings plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts.
• Discretionary annual bonus program (or sales‑based incentive for field sales).
• Stock‑based long‑term incentives.
• Award‑winning time‑off plans.
• Flexible work models where possible.

Pay

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.