Biotech Jobs London Cambridge 2026: Salary

You are seeing biotech job ads in London and Cambridge and thinking, “Why is the salary range so vague?” One role says “competitive,” another says £35k to £70k, and a third wants PhD-level skills, Python, GMP, stakeholder management, and somehow pays like a graduate scheme. Annoying, right?

If you are planning a move into biotech in 2026, or trying to work out whether London or Cambridge gives you the better offer, you need real numbers, not fluffy recruiter speak.

Biotech Jobs London Cambridge 2026: Salary#

London and Cambridge are still the two biggest UK biotech job clusters going into 2026.

London has the NHS, King’s College London, UCL, Imperial College London, the Francis Crick Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and lots of AI, healthtech, diagnostics, and venture-backed companies.

Cambridge has AstraZeneca, Illumina, Abcam, Bicycle Therapeutics, bit.bio, Mogrify, Mission Therapeutics, Cancer Research Horizons, and the wider Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Both can be brilliant. Both can be expensive. Both can also underpay you if you do not know your market value.

This guide breaks down:

1. Salary ranges by role.
2. London vs Cambridge pay differences.
3. What skills push salaries up.
4. How biotech hiring may look in 2026.
5. How to negotiate without sounding awkward.
6. Which roles are best for grads, PhDs, and career changers.

Quick Salary Snapshot For 2026#

Here is the short version before we get into the detail.

Typical biotech salaries in London, 2026

1. Research Assistant: £28k to £38k
2. Scientist: £38k to £55k
3. Senior Scientist: £52k to £75k
4. Principal Scientist: £70k to £95k
5. Bioinformatician: £45k to £80k
6. Computational Biologist: £50k to £90k
7. Clinical Research Associate: £38k to £60k
8. Regulatory Affairs Specialist: £45k to £75k
9. Quality Assurance Manager: £55k to £85k
10. Business Development Manager: £65k to £110k base, with bonus
11. Director level biotech roles: £95k to £160k+

Typical biotech salaries in Cambridge, 2026

1. Research Assistant: £27k to £36k
2. Scientist: £36k to £52k
3. Senior Scientist: £50k to £72k
4. Principal Scientist: £68k to £92k
5. Bioinformatician: £43k to £78k
6. Computational Biologist: £48k to £88k
7. Clinical Research Associate: £36k to £58k
8. Regulatory Affairs Specialist: £43k to £72k
9. Quality Assurance Manager: £52k to £82k
10. Business Development Manager: £62k to £105k base, with bonus
11. Director level biotech roles: £90k to £155k+

London can pay a little more, especially for commercial, AI, clinical operations, finance-facing, and healthtech roles.

Cambridge can be stronger for wet lab R&D, platform biotech, drug discovery, genomics, and early-stage science-heavy companies.

Why London And Cambridge Still Dominate UK Biotech#

If you want biotech jobs in the UK, these two places come up again and again.

London has the funding and hospitals

London is full of clinical links. If your work touches trials, diagnostics, patient data, digital health, AI in medicine, or translational research, London has a lot going on.

Companies and organisations you will see in London include:

1. GSK, especially with UK corporate and R&D links.
2. Genomics England.
3. The Francis Crick Institute.
4. BenevolentAI.
5. COMPASS Pathways.
6. Orchard Therapeutics.
7. Autolus Therapeutics.
8. Imperial College spinouts.
9. UCL spinouts.
10. NHS trusts linked to research hospitals.

London also has more finance, consulting, and venture capital jobs connected to biotech. So if you want to move from lab work into strategy, investor relations, product, or business development, London has more doors.

Cambridge has the science engine

Cambridge is smaller, but biotech density is ridiculous.

You have the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Babraham Research Campus, Wellcome Sanger Institute nearby in Hinxton, AstraZeneca’s major R&D centre, and a stream of university spinouts.

Real employers around Cambridge include:

1. AstraZeneca.
2. Illumina.
3. Abcam.
4. bit.bio.
5. Bicycle Therapeutics.
6. Mogrify.
7. Domainex.
8. PhoreMost.
9. Mission Therapeutics.
10. Microbiotica.
11. Healx.
12. Sano Genetics.

Cambridge is very strong if you want drug discovery, cell therapy, genomics, omics data, antibody discovery, protein science, or platform biology.

Salary By Role: What You Can Expect In 2026#

Let’s get practical. Titles vary a lot in biotech, so treat these as working ranges.

A “Scientist” at one company may be similar to a “Senior Research Associate” elsewhere. A “Principal Scientist” in a 20-person startup may not match a Principal Scientist at AstraZeneca.

Research Assistant, Research Technician, Lab Technician

This is where many graduates start.

Typical 2026 salary:

1. London: £28k to £38k
2. Cambridge: £27k to £36k
3. US comparison, Boston or San Diego: $48k to $70k

You are usually doing hands-on lab work, sample prep, assays, cell culture, ELISA, PCR, qPCR, Western blot, sequencing prep, microscopy, or data entry.

You can push toward the top end if you have:

1. Industry placement year.
2. GMP or GLP exposure.
3. Cell culture experience.
4. Flow cytometry.
5. NGS library prep.
6. Strong documentation habits.
7. Experience with LIMS or electronic lab notebooks.

If you are seeing £24k for a London lab role in 2026, be careful. That may be possible in academia or charity-funded research, but in private biotech it is low unless the role has heavy training.

Associate Scientist And Scientist

This is the classic early to mid-level biotech role.

Typical 2026 salary:

1. London: £38k to £55k
2. Cambridge: £36k to £52k
3. US comparison, Boston: $75k to $115k

You may need a master’s degree, PhD, or strong industry experience. For some roles, a BSc plus 3 to 5 years can beat a fresh PhD with no industry track record.

Common areas include:

1. Molecular biology.
2. Immunology.
3. Cell biology.
4. Assay development.
5. Protein expression.
6. Biochemistry.
7. Pharmacology.
8. Translational biology.
9. Oncology research.
10. Neuroscience research.

The higher salaries usually go to people who can run projects, not just experiments.

That means you can say things like:

1. “Developed and validated a 96-well assay that reduced screening time by 30%.”
2. “Supported IND-enabling studies for a preclinical oncology asset.”
3. “Improved reproducibility across three cell-based assay workflows.”

Biotech managers love proof. Do not just list techniques like a shopping receipt.

Senior Scientist

Senior Scientist is where things get interesting, and where under-negotiating hurts.

Typical 2026 salary:

1. London: £52k to £75k
2. Cambridge: £50k to £72k
3. US comparison, Boston or San Francisco: $110k to $155k

You may be leading workstreams, mentoring junior scientists, designing experiments, presenting to leadership, and dealing with CROs.

Skills that push you up:

1. Drug discovery project experience.
2. Preclinical development.
3. Biomarker strategy.
4. Translational medicine.
5. Line management.
6. External vendor management.
7. Cross-functional team experience.
8. Strong data storytelling.
9. Good publication or patent record.
10. Experience in a funded startup.

If you are moving from academia, this is where you need to translate your CV.

“Postdoctoral Researcher, 7 years” is less useful than:

1. “Led a 4-person team studying T cell exhaustion.”
2. “Managed £250k grant budget and two external collaborations.”
3. “Built reproducible flow cytometry panels for immune profiling.”
4. “Published 8 papers, including 3 first-author articles.”

Principal Scientist And Group Leader

This is senior technical leadership.

Typical 2026 salary:

1. London: £70k to £95k
2. Cambridge: £68k to £92k
3. US comparison: $140k to $190k

At this level, companies pay for judgement.

You are expected to know which experiments matter, which ones are a waste of money, and how to turn messy science into decisions.

You may be responsible for:

1. Scientific strategy.
2. Platform development.
3. Program leadership.
4. Hiring scientists.
5. Managing timelines.
6. Working with C-suite leaders.
7. Presenting to investors.
8. Contributing to IP strategy.
9. Choosing CRO partners.
10. Reviewing regulatory packages.

Cambridge has many Principal Scientist roles in platform biotech, drug discovery, genomics, synthetic biology, and early-stage therapeutics.

London may have more principal-level roles that connect science with clinical data, AI, diagnostics, and commercial strategy.

Bioinformatics And Computational Biology Salaries#

If you can code and understand biology, you are in a good spot.

Biotech hiring in 2026 is likely to keep favouring people who can work across biology, statistics, machine learning, and cloud tools.

Bioinformatician

Typical 2026 salary:

1. London: £45k to £80k
2. Cambridge: £43k to £78k
3. US comparison: $90k to $150k

You may work on NGS data, RNA-seq, single-cell analysis, variant interpretation, metagenomics, spatial transcriptomics, or clinical genomics.

Skills that increase salary:

1. Python.
2. R.
3. Nextflow or Snakemake.
4. AWS, Azure, or GCP.
5. Docker.
6. Git.
7. Single-cell analysis.
8. Clinical genomics.
9. Statistical genetics.
10. Good communication with wet lab teams.

A bioinformatician who can explain results clearly to biologists will often beat a better coder who cannot communicate.

Computational Biologist

Typical 2026 salary:

1. London: £50k to £90k
2. Cambridge: £48k to £88k
3. US comparison: $105k to $170k

Computational biology usually sits closer to scientific interpretation than pure pipeline work.

You may be modelling disease biology, predicting target candidates, analysing multi-omics data, or supporting drug discovery decisions.

Companies like BenevolentAI, Exscientia, Healx, Recursion, Insilico Medicine, and many smaller AI-biotech firms have shaped expectations here.

Even if not all are hiring heavily in London or Cambridge at once, their influence on job descriptions is obvious. You will see demand for machine learning, biological networks, target discovery, and data integration.

Clinical, Regulatory, And Quality Salaries#

Not every biotech career is lab-based. Honestly, some of the best-paid and most stable paths are outside the lab.

Clinical Research Associate And Clinical Trial Roles

Typical 2026 salary:

1. Clinical Trial Assistant: £28k to £38k
2. Clinical Research Associate, London: £38k to £60k
3. Clinical Research Associate, Cambridge: £36k to £58k
4. Clinical Project Manager: £55k to £85k
5. Clinical Operations Director: £95k to £145k+

US comparison for CRAs is often around $70k to $120k, depending on travel and sponsor-side experience.

London has a natural advantage because of major hospitals, CRO offices, NHS links, and trial networks.

Key employers may include:

1. IQVIA.
2. ICON.
3. Parexel.
4. Syneos Health.
5. GSK.
6. AstraZeneca.
7. UCLH research teams.
8. King’s Health Partners.
9. Smaller biotech sponsors.

If you are organised, calm, good with documents, and do not mind chasing people, clinical operations can be a very strong career path.

Regulatory Affairs

Typical 2026 salary:

1. Regulatory Affairs Associate: £35k to £48k
2. Regulatory Affairs Specialist: £45k to £75k
3. Regulatory Affairs Manager: £65k to £95k
4. Regulatory Director: £100k to £155k+

Regulatory affairs is brilliant if you like science but do not want to spend your life at the bench.

You will work on submissions, agency interactions, labelling, clinical trial applications, compliance, and product approvals.

Useful experience includes:

1. MHRA processes.
2. EMA submissions.
3. FDA awareness.
4. Medical writing.
5. CMC documentation.
6. Clinical trial applications.
7. Orphan drug or advanced therapy experience.
8. Combination products.
9. Diagnostics regulation.
10. Post-Brexit UK regulatory routes.

London may have slightly more regulatory roles connected to consulting, medtech, diagnostics, and pharma offices.

Cambridge may have more roles inside early-stage therapeutic and platform companies.

Quality Assurance And GMP

Typical 2026 salary:

1. QA Officer: £32k to £45k
2. QA Specialist: £42k to £60k
3. QA Manager: £55k to £85k
4. Qualified Person: £80k to £130k+
5. Head of Quality: £95k to £150k+

QA is not always glamorous, but it pays.

If you know GMP, batch release, deviations, CAPA, audits, validation, and manufacturing documentation, you can build a very steady career.

Cell and gene therapy companies, CDMOs, diagnostics manufacturers, and pharma sites all need quality people.

Skills that raise your rate:

1. GMP manufacturing.
2. Audit leadership.
3. Validation.
4. Supplier qualification.
5. Sterile manufacturing.
6. ATMP experience.
7. QMS ownership.
8. MHRA inspection support.
9. Batch record review.
10. Risk management.

London Vs Cambridge: Which Pays Better?#

The honest answer: London often pays slightly more, but Cambridge can give better science-specific opportunities.

Here is a simple comparison.

Choose London if you want:

1. Higher chance of commercial biotech roles.
2. Healthtech and AI-health jobs.
3. Clinical trial operations.
4. Diagnostics and digital health.
5. Investor-facing roles.
6. Consulting and strategy exits.
7. More hybrid office options.
8. More networking events.
9. More big-company functions.
10. Easier moves into finance, VC, or product.

London salaries can be 3% to 10% higher for similar roles, especially if the company competes with tech or finance salaries.

But rent can swallow that quickly.

A £60k biotech salary in London may feel less comfortable than £56k in Cambridge if your commute and housing are cheaper in Cambridge or nearby towns.

Choose Cambridge if you want:

1. Deep R&D biotech.
2. Drug discovery.
3. Genomics.
4. Cell biology.
5. Platform biotech.
6. University spinouts.
7. Closer scientific networks.
8. AstraZeneca-style pharma R&D.
9. Better access to wet lab roles.
10. A smaller community where people know each other.

Cambridge can be amazing for career compounding.

If you become known in a niche like single-cell biology, target validation, medicinal chemistry, or translational biomarkers, people hear about you fast.

The downside is that Cambridge is not cheap anymore. Rent, trains, and house prices can be painful, especially near the station or Biomedical Campus.

Graduate Biotech Jobs In London And Cambridge#

If you are graduating in 2026, you are probably wondering whether you need a master’s or PhD.

Short answer: not always.

Entry-level roles you can target with a BSc

1. Research Assistant.
2. Lab Technician.
3. QC Analyst.
4. Manufacturing Technician.
5. Clinical Trial Assistant.
6. Data Coordinator.
7. Sample Management Technician.
8. Regulatory Affairs Assistant.
9. Scientific Sales Associate.
10. Application Support Specialist.

Salary range:

1. London: £28k to £38k
2. Cambridge: £27k to £36k

Top tips for grads:

1. Put lab techniques high on your CV.
2. Include your dissertation project.
3. Add placement or internship details.
4. Mention exact instruments and assays.
5. Quantify sample numbers, timelines, or results.
6. Show you can follow SOPs.
7. Show you can write clearly.
8. Apply early, biotech roles can close quickly.

Your CV should not say, “Passionate biology graduate seeking exciting opportunity.”

It should say something more like, “BSc Biomedical Sciences graduate with hands-on qPCR, mammalian cell culture, ELISA, and aseptic technique experience, including a final-year project analysing inflammatory marker expression in macrophage models.”

See the difference? One sounds cute. The other sounds hireable.

PhD And Postdoc Moves Into Biotech#

If you have a PhD or postdoc background, you can absolutely move into biotech. But you need to stop writing like you are applying for another academic fellowship.

Common industry roles for PhDs

1. Scientist.
2. Senior Scientist.
3. Translational Scientist.
4. Bioinformatician.
5. Computational Biologist.
6. Medical Writer.
7. Clinical Scientist.
8. Regulatory Affairs Specialist.
9. Field Application Scientist.
10. Product Manager, after some industry exposure.

Salary expectations:

1. Fresh PhD Scientist, London: £38k to £48k
2. Fresh PhD Scientist, Cambridge: £36k to £46k
3. Postdoc with 3 to 5 years relevant experience: £45k to £60k
4. Strong industry-aligned postdoc: £55k to £70k

The mistake many PhDs make is assuming years automatically equal salary.

Industry cares about fit.

A 2-year postdoc in CRISPR screening may beat a 7-year postdoc in a less commercial area if the company needs CRISPR screening right now.

Translate academic language into biotech language

Instead of:

1. “Investigated mechanisms of immune dysregulation.”
2. “Worked on a collaborative project.”
3. “Performed statistical analysis.”

Try:

1. “Identified candidate immune pathways for target validation using flow cytometry, RNA-seq, and CRISPR perturbation data.”
2. “Coordinated work between two academic labs and one external sequencing provider.”
3. “Analysed RNA-seq datasets in R, producing figures used in two grant reports and one manuscript.”

You are not dumbing it down. You are making the value obvious.

Skills That Push Biotech Salaries Higher In 2026#

Some skills are nice. Others change your salary band.

If you are planning your next 6 to 12 months, focus on skills that show up again and again in job ads.

High-value wet lab skills

1. Mammalian cell culture.
2. Primary cell culture.
3. Flow cytometry.
4. CRISPR screening.
5. ELISA and MSD assays.
6. qPCR and ddPCR.
7. NGS library prep.
8. Single-cell workflows.
9. Organoids.
10. Assay development.
11. High-throughput screening.
12. Protein purification.
13. LC-MS or mass spectrometry.
14. Immuno-oncology models.
15. ATMP or cell therapy manufacturing.

High-value data skills

1. Python.
2. R.
3. SQL.
4. Git.
5. Linux.
6. Cloud computing.
7. Docker.
8. Nextflow.
9. Machine learning basics.
10. Single-cell analysis.
11. Spatial biology analysis.
12. Statistical modelling.
13. Data visualisation.
14. Reproducible workflows.
15. Clinical data standards awareness.

High-value business and operations skills

1. GMP.
2. GLP.
3. GCP.
4. CAPA.
5. QMS.
6. Vendor management.
7. CRO management.
8. Budget ownership.
9. Project management.
10. Regulatory submissions.
11. Medical writing.
12. Scientific presentations.
13. Stakeholder management.
14. IP awareness.
15. Investor deck support.

If you combine science plus data, or science plus regulatory, or science plus commercial thinking, you become much harder to replace.

That is where salary growth comes from.

How To Negotiate A Biotech Salary Without Feeling Weird#

Most people leave money on the table because they are too polite.

You do not need to be aggressive. You just need to be clear.

Before the first recruiter call

Know your numbers:

1. Your minimum.
2. Your target.
3. Your “yes immediately” number.
4. Your current total package.
5. Your commute cost.
6. Your bonus or pension details.
7. Whether you care more about base pay, title, flexibility, or equity.

If a recruiter asks your expectations, do not say, “I’m flexible.”

Say:

“Based on the role scope and the London market, I’m targeting £58k to £65k base, depending on the full package.”

Or:

“For Cambridge Senior Scientist roles with project leadership, I’m seeing £55k to £70k, so I’d expect something in that range.”

This gives you room.

When the offer is lower than expected

Try this:

“Thanks, I’m excited about the role and the team. The offer is a bit below where I expected for this level, especially given the project leadership and assay development responsibilities. Is there room to move closer to £62k?”

Simple. Normal. Adult.

If they cannot move on base, ask about:

1. Signing bonus.
2. Review after 6 months.
3. Higher pension contribution.
4. Extra annual leave.
5. Training budget.
6. Conference attendance.
7. Hybrid work.
8. Relocation support.
9. Stock options.
10. Job title adjustment.

In startups, equity can matter, but do not let vague options distract you from a low salary.

Ask:

1. What percentage ownership do the options represent?
2. What is the vesting schedule?
3. What is the strike price?
4. What happens if I leave?
5. When was the last funding round?
6. What is the current runway?

If they act offended, that tells you something.

Red Flags In Biotech Job Ads#

Some ads are just badly written. Others are warning signs.

Watch out for:

1. “Competitive salary” with no range after you ask.
2. Scientist role asking for 8 years of experience and paying £38k.
3. Startup offering low pay because “equity upside is huge.”
4. No clear manager.
5. No funding clarity.
6. Vague responsibilities across five jobs.
7. “Fast-paced environment” repeated three times.
8. No mention of training for junior roles.
9. Heavy weekend work without compensation.
10. Interview process longer than 5 stages for a mid-level role.
11. Take-home tasks that look like free consulting.
12. No clear decision timeline.

For startups, ask directly:

1. How much runway does the company have?
2. Has the next funding round started?
3. What milestones must be hit this year?
4. Has the team had layoffs in the last 12 months?
5. Is this a replacement role or new headcount?

You are not being difficult. You are checking whether your rent will still get paid in nine months.

Best Biotech Career Paths For Salary Growth#

If money matters, and it probably does, some paths tend to grow faster.

Strong salary paths in London

1. Clinical Operations Manager to Director.
2. Regulatory Affairs Manager to Director.
3. Bioinformatics Lead.
4. Computational Biology Lead.
5. Product Manager in healthtech.
6. Business Development Manager.
7. Medical Affairs.
8. Strategy or consulting roles.
9. Diagnostics commercial roles.
10. AI drug discovery roles.

Strong salary paths in Cambridge

1. Senior Scientist to Principal Scientist.
2. Translational Biology Lead.
3. Drug Discovery Project Leader.
4. Bioinformatics Lead.
5. Platform Technology Lead.
6. Quality Manager in GMP environments.
7. CMC Manager.
8. Alliance Manager.
9. Scientific Business Development.
10. Director of Biology or Discovery.

A common route is:

1. Start in research.
2. Build a technical niche.
3. Lead small projects.
4. Move into cross-functional work.
5. Manage people or programs.
6. Step into principal, director, or commercial roles.

You do not need to become a people manager to earn more, but at some point you need to own decisions, not just tasks.

Cost Of Living: Do Not Ignore It#

Salary is only half the story.

A £65k role in London may look better than £58k in Cambridge, but check the real monthly difference.

London costs to consider

1. Higher rent, especially Zone 1 to 3.
2. Tube and rail costs.
3. Higher social spending.
4. Longer commutes if you move further out.
5. More competition for housing.

Cambridge costs to consider

1. High rent near the station and Biomedical Campus.
2. Expensive rail to London.
3. Limited housing stock.
4. Bike-friendly commutes can save money.
5. Nearby towns may be cheaper, like Ely, Royston, Newmarket, or Huntingdon.

Do a simple monthly calculation before accepting:

1. Net monthly pay.
2. Rent.
3. Council tax.
4. Travel.
5. Student loan.
6. Pension.
7. Food.
8. Childcare, if relevant.
9. Savings target.
10. Emergency buffer.

Do not accept a “prestige” job that makes you financially miserable unless it clearly opens a door you want.

What Hiring Could Look Like In 2026#

Biotech hiring has been choppy in recent years. Funding cycles, interest rates, pharma partnerships, and trial results all affect jobs.

By 2026, expect hiring to be selective rather than wild.

Companies may want people who can do more than one thing, but the good ones will still pay properly for scarce skills.

Likely hot areas

1. AI-assisted drug discovery.
2. Translational medicine.
3. Biomarker discovery.
4. Immunology.
5. Oncology.
6. Cell and gene therapy.
7. Genomics.
8. Rare disease.
9. Clinical bioinformatics.
10. Regulatory strategy.
11. CMC and manufacturing.
12. Diagnostics.
13. Data engineering for biology.
14. Spatial biology.
15. Protein design.

Likely tougher areas

1. Generic research assistant roles with no specialist skills.
2. Pure academia-to-industry transitions without CV tailoring.
3. Early-stage startups without fresh funding.
4. Jobs tied to single risky programs.
5. Roles where automation is reducing repetitive work.

That does not mean you should panic. It means you should position yourself clearly.

How To Make Your CV Work For London And Cambridge Biotech#

Your CV needs to pass two tests:

1. The ATS needs to read it.
2. A busy hiring manager needs to understand your value in 20 seconds.

What to include near the top

1. Target title, such as “Scientist, Immunology” or “Bioinformatician.”
2. 3 to 5-line summary with real skills.
3. Core techniques or tools.
4. Industry keywords from the job ad.
5. Measurable achievements.
6. Relevant publications or patents, if useful.
7. Clear employment dates.
8. Education and certifications.

Example summary for a lab scientist

“Scientist with 4 years’ experience in immunology assay development, mammalian cell culture, flow cytometry, ELISA, and qPCR. Experienced in designing experiments, analysing data in GraphPad Prism and R, and presenting findings to cross-functional teams. Supported target validation work for oncology and inflammatory disease programs.”

Example summary for bioinformatics

“Bioinformatician with experience in RNA-seq, single-cell analysis, Python, R, Nextflow, Docker, and AWS. Built reproducible pipelines for transcriptomic datasets and partnered with wet lab scientists to interpret results for target discovery projects.”

Example summary for regulatory

“Regulatory affairs specialist with experience supporting UK and EU clinical trial submissions, CMC documentation, and cross-functional submission planning. Strong knowledge of MHRA and EMA processes, with a background in biomedical science.”

Keep it clear. No poetry. No corporate fog.

Final Thoughts: London Or Cambridge For Biotech In 2026?#

If you want the broadest mix of biotech, healthtech, clinical, commercial, and investor-adjacent roles, London is probably stronger.

If you want dense scientific R&D, drug discovery, genomics, and platform biotech, Cambridge is hard to beat.

For salary, London may edge ahead in some roles, especially commercial, AI, and clinical operations. Cambridge can match or come close for senior R&D, bioinformatics, and pharma-linked roles.

The real winner is the offer that gives you:

1. Fair salary.
2. Good manager.
3. Funded company.
4. Clear role scope.
5. Skills that grow your value.
6. Reasonable commute.
7. A next step you actually want.

Before you apply to another London or Cambridge biotech job, check whether your CV is getting blocked before a human sees it. Run it through JobRise’s free ATS checker here: https://jobrise.io/en/free-ats-checker/