A career in Protein Science exposes you to an array of amazing opportunities. The industry is very rapidly expanding with the increase in preclinical drug discovery and the application of machine learning to protein science. Protein Scientists support drug discovery projects that transform healthcare and be a part of the journey to discover cures for untreatable diseases.

As a Protein Scientist, you will be working in a laboratory mostly involved in drug discovery projects. The area of “protein science” is very broad and varied.

Protein Biochemist
Protein Scientist
Drug Discovery Scientist
Protein Production Scientist
Protein Purification Scientist
Protein Characterisation Scientist

Junior Protein Scientist
Protein Scientist
Senior Protein Scientist
Principal Protein Scientist
Head of Protein Science
Associate Director
Director

alaries are dependent on the company and the exact areas of responsibility of each role. Generally, roles based in Cambridge, London and Oxford will be higher paying than anywhere else in the UK as these are the hubs for science with many companies competing for top talent.  The below are a rough benchmark.

Junior Protein Scientist – Usually someone who has a master’s degree with a year in industry or someone who has done a placement year. People can get into Protein Science directly from a master but would need to be highly relevant to the company. Salaries for these roles range from £25,000 to £30,000.

Protein Scientist – Usually someone who has a master’s and a couple of years’ experience, or someone who has done a PhD and is looking to go straight into industry. The salary guide for this is between £35,000 – £45,000.

Senior Protein Scientist – Usually someone who has a few years’ experience in Protein Science. This is normally someone who has a PhD with a postdoc that has been about 2/3 years or someone who has a master’s with about 5 years’ experience in industry. Salaries for these roles tend to be between £45,000 and £60,000.

Principal Protein Scientist – Usually someone who is a real expert in the field and has extensive experience working within the space. They tend to bring at least 10 years’ experience. Salaries for this kind of role could be between £65,000 – £85,000.

Head of Protein Science – Salaries for senior posts of this kind tend to sit between £75,000 to £100,000.

There are a lot of different skills that can lead to different paths, but the typical skills listed on job specifications are:

• Protein expression, that can either be in bacterial, yeast, mammalian or insect expression systems.
• Protein purification using techniques such as FPLC, AKTA pure – chromatography (SEC, IEX, affinity etc) or filtration (TFF or UFDF).
• Protein cloning skills, using Gibson assembly, Golden gate.
• Characterisation assays to assess stability, purity and activity to QC and rank candidate protein using techniques such as ELISA, flow cytometry, cell viability assays etc.
• Protein Production.
• Cell Engineering, for the expression of novel proteins to target cells.

There is a range of different protein targets that can be worked on and they depend on the company, but these can be membrane proteins, monoclonal antibodies, multi-valent biologics, antibodies, T-cells, peptide-HLA’s and a large number of others. Most people in the space will have specific experience working within one of these and will then stay within this area for their whole career.

The majority of clients within in this field will look for a PhD or master’s, that is heavily focused on Protein Science, plus industry experience is a benefit depending on the level of the role.

Salary:

£22k – £28k

What They Do:

Supports protein research by preparing buffers, maintaining instruments, running basic assays, and assisting scientists with experiments.

Skills Needed:

• Understanding of protein purification and analytical techniques
• Knowledge of lab safety and compliance
• Ability to maintain and calibrate lab equipment
• Attention to detail and accurate data recording
• Familiarity with basic molecular biology techniques (SDS-PAGE, Western blotting)

Salary:

£28k – £35k

What They Do:

Conducts routine protein expression, purification, and characterisation under supervision, and supports ongoing research projects.

Skills Needed:

• Proficiency in chromatography and electrophoresis techniques
• Analytical skills using spectroscopy or mass spectrometry
• Experience in recombinant protein expression (bacterial, mammalian systems)
• Strong organisational and communication skills
• Basic bioinformatics and data analysis (advantageous)

Salary:

£35k – £45k

What They Do:

Independently designs and conducts experiments, develops purification protocols, and interprets data to advance research or product development.

Skills Needed:

• Expertise in protein engineering, expression, and purification
• Structural biology techniques (X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, NMR)
• Experimental design and troubleshooting
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines
• Mentoring junior staff

Salary:

£45k – £60k

What They Do:

Leads projects related to protein research, manages teams, and provides strategic input into pipeline development.

Skills Needed:

• Advanced understanding of protein function and interactions
• High-level data analysis and reporting
• Team and project leadership
• Grant writing and funding acquisition
• Experience with regulatory and quality requirements (GMP, GLP)

Salary:

£60k – £80k

What They Do:

Oversees the protein science department or group, aligns research goals with business objectives, and manages budgets and resources.

Skills Needed:

• Strategic planning and leadership
• Deep technical expertise in protein science and drug discovery
• Budget and resource management
• Stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration
• Team development and succession planning

Salary:

£90k – £120k+

What They Do:

Defines the organisation’s protein science strategy, leads high-impact projects, and drives innovation at the board level.

Skills Needed:

• Visionary leadership and extensive industry experience
• International collaborations and partnerships
• Ability to translate research into clinical or commercial outcomes
• C-suite communication and investor relations
• Strong record of scientific publications and grant success