Would you like to be a part of Altria’s Harm Reduction vision and journey to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future? Have a PhD or Masters in Toxicology or related field? Have experience in applied preclinical toxicological research? If so, we want to speak with you! 

We are hiring a Principal Toxicologist to join our Biological Sciences Insights (BSI) team as part of the Pre-Clinical group in Richmond, VA, or we are open to remote work arrangements.

The selected candidate will use their scientific and technical expertise in preclinical toxicology to conduct toxicological studies in the support of reduced-risk tobacco and nicotine product development and their regulatory submissions.

What you'll be doing:

• Serve as a subject matter expert in and provide scientific recommendations for regulatory and/or mechanistic toxicology testing as part of overall toxicological risk assessments for potentially reduced-risk tobacco products
• Lead data consolidation, integration and analysis for Biological Sciences Insights team aimed to incorporate insights into exposure-led risk assessments
• Design and lead GLP and non-GLP studies on diverse test materials (individual chemicals, mixtures, aerosols, extracts, etc.) across various exposure regimens as study monitor and sponsor representative
• Occasional travel (10-20%) to external labs for lab selection, inspection, study monitoring, etc.
• Prepare results for internal communications and regulatory submissions
• Identify data gaps and develop strategies to address
• Lead and participate in cross-functional teams, providing toxicological expertise while representing BSI and the Pre-Clinical team
• Proactively engage with external scientific communities and represent the company via external presentations and peer-review publications
• Monitor developments in new approach methodologies (NAMs) to advance our preclinical testing program 
  
  

What we want you to have:

• PhD in toxicology or closely related field with 5+ years of experience (minimum of 8 years of experience with MSc) in preclinical testing (e.g., in vitro, in vivo, in silico, etc.)
• Strong experience in risk assessment/analysis in a regulatory environment (experience in the tobacco environment is a plus)
• Demonstrated ability to analyze/synthesize data from multiple lines of evidence to develop meaningful insights and conclusions
• Proven track record for interpreting a range of pre-clinical study outcomes (e.g., test article characterization, in-life toxicity, genotoxicity, histopathology, mechanistic endpoints)
• Expertise as study director or study monitor in the conduct of preclinical toxicity studies is required with hands-on experience in the conduct of in vivo studies being highly desirable
• Experience in NAMs, such as PBPK modeling and/or BMD modeling, in support of chemical and product risk assessment is highly desired with experience in bioinformatics and/or computational toxicology preferred
• Good project management skills, attention to detail, as well as outstanding verbal and written communication skills for presenting and communicating results/data to both scientists and non-scientists are required
• Strong leadership skills with ability to effectively work within cross-functional settings and with minimum supervision