Six Figure Work

Principal Scientist - Cardiometabolic Disorders - Obesity

Amgen

Company websiteamgen.com (Amgen, opens in new tab)

Base salary $140,123  to $189,579

Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Thousand Oaks, CA

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  • LocationThousand Oaks, CA
  • WorkplaceOn-site
  • Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
  • Last checked (52 min ago) · observed since

About this job

Career Category

Scientific

Job Description

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients


At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. 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 our 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 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.


Principal Scientist – Cardiometabolic Diseases/Obesity and Related Conditions.


What you will do


Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role you will provide scientific leadership for the discovery and preclinical development of next-generation therapeutics for obesity and related conditions. You will lead the design and execution of translational pharmacology strategies to advance innovative therapeutic candidates from target validation through candidate selection.


As a Principal Scientist, you will drive scientific excellence across multiple discovery programs by integrating human biology, in vitro pharmacology, and in vivo efficacy studies to establish a robust pharmacological understanding and enable data-driven decision making. You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams spanning biology, protein engineering, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, biomarker sciences, computational biology, and clinical development.


Key Responsibilities


  • Provide scientific leadership for obesity and related conditions drug discovery programs from target identification and validation through candidate selection.

  • Develop and implement translational pharmacology strategies to evaluate novel therapeutic mechanisms and optimize candidate molecules.

  • Design, oversee, and interpret in vitro and in vivo pharmacology studies, including efficacy, mechanism-of-action, PK/PD, and biomarker investigations.

  • Lead cross-functional scientific discussions and influence program direction through rigorous data interpretation and critical thinking.

  • Identify and implement innovative pharmacology approaches and emerging technologies to advance GPCR-targeted drug discovery.

  • Mentor and develop scientists while fostering scientific excellence, innovation, and collaboration.

  • Present scientific findings and recommendations to project teams, senior leadership, and external scientific audiences.

  • Contribute to publications, presentations, and scientific strategy that strengthen Amgen's obesity research portfolio.

What we expect of you


We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. The Principal Scientist we seek is an accomplished scientific leader with these qualifications.


Basic Qualifications:


Doctorate degree PhD


OR


PharmD


OR


MD [and relevant post-doc where applicable] and 2 years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or related drug discovery research


OR


Master’s degree and 5 years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or related drug discovery research


OR


Bachelor’s degree and 7 years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or related drug discovery research


Preferred Qualifications:


  • PhD in Pharmacology, Physiology, Endocrinology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, or a related scientific discipline with 5+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology drug discovery.

  • Extensive expertise in GPCR biology, pharmacology, and signaling, with a deep understanding of receptor pharmacology, signal transduction, and mechanism-of-action studies.

  • Demonstrated experience developing, optimizing, and applying GPCR-based in vitro pharmacology assays, including functional signaling assays, ligand-binding assays, receptor internalization, β-arrestin, cAMP, calcium mobilization, and pathway-selective (biased signaling) analyses.

  • Strong expertise in pharmacological characterization of peptide, antibody, multispecific, or other biologic therapeutics.

  • Experience designing and interpreting in vivo pharmacology studies to support target validation, mechanism-of-action, and candidate selection.

  • Demonstrated ability to integrate in vitro pharmacology, in vivo efficacy, PK/PD, biomarker, and human biology data to guide scientific decisions and advance discovery programs.

  • Proven scientific leadership with the ability to independently develop innovative scientific strategies, solve complex biological problems, and influence multidisciplinary project teams.

  • Experience mentoring scientists and leading cross-functional collaborations in a fast-paced drug discovery environment.

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong track record of publications, presentations, and scientific contributions.

  • Demonstrated creativity, scientific curiosity, and a passion for discovering transformative therapies for patients with obesity and related metabolic diseases.

What you can expect of us


As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, we’ll support your journey every step of the way.


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.


In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include:


  • A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

  • A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan

  • Stock-based long-term incentives

  • Award-winning time-off plans

  • Flexible work models where possible. Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies.

Apply now and make a lasting impact with the Amgen team.

careers.amgen.com


In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.


Application deadline


Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.


Sponsorship


Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed.


As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of diverse, ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.


Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.


We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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Salary Range

140,123.35USD -189,578.65 USD

Source: Amgen on Workday · View original posting (opens in new tab)

Pay in context

This role's base floor ($140,123) is above 36% of the 492 Science & Research roles in California listed on this site; 1 other lists the same floor. Their median floor is $159,477; the middle half runs from $126,066 to $200,000.

Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 8, 2026.

This range next to 6 other live Amgen roles with the nearest advertised base floor
Chart as a table
This range next to 6 other live Amgen roles with the nearest advertised base floor
RolePublished base
Principal Scientist - Cardiometabolic Disorders - Obesity (this listing)$140,123 - $189,579
Principal Scientist – Chemical Biology & Proximity-Based Therapeutics$140,123 - $189,579
Lab Design Project Engineer$140,334 - $189,864
Principal Engineer$140,334 - $189,864
Principal Engineer - (Electrical)$140,334 - $189,864
Regulatory Writing Senior Manager$139,582 - $188,846
Senior Oncology Specialist - EMERALD - Orange County CA$140,465 - $190,041

Same $100K to $400K scale as every card. All Amgen roles · How to read the bar

Observed changes

  1. First observed on the employer's board
  2. fields changed
  3. Began meeting the published-salary criteria
Observed since
Employer-stated posting date
2026-10-23
Where this pay comes from

Location as the employer wrote it: US - California - Thousand Oaks

140,123.35USD -189,578.65 USD

Method
Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
Checked
Rule set
us-base-v2

The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.

What we verified

  • The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
  • The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
  • The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.

We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.

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