SciLeads to create 60 remote roles in life sciences tech

Belfast-based SciLeads plans to add 60 remote roles over the next three years as it expands its market intelligence software business for life sciences companies.

The new hires will span software engineering, product, sales, customer success and marketing. The recruitment drive reflects SciLeads' remote-first approach, with staff based in different locations rather than a single office.

SciLeads sells a software platform that provides market intelligence for commercial teams in the life sciences sector. It positions the product around real-time insight into scientific activity and how it relates to prospective customers and markets.

The expansion follows what SciLeads described as a strong year in 2025, including headcount growth and multiple industry recognitions. It also comes as the company approaches its 10-year anniversary in 2026, after being founded in Belfast in 2016 by Daniel McRitchie, Laura Haldane and James Campbell.

Remote recruitment

SciLeads plans to keep remote hiring at the centre of its growth strategy. The roles cover technical and commercial areas: software engineering and product teams will support platform development, while sales, marketing and customer success will focus on customer acquisition, retention and account management.

The remote model is intended to widen the hiring pool beyond Northern Ireland, with recruitment expected in the UK and the US.

"2025 was a transformational year for SciLeads," said Daniel McRitchie, CEO. "We're continuing to invest in our platform and data so we can deliver even greater value to our customers, and we're looking forward to welcoming new talent, both here in the United Kingdom and across the Atlantic, as we scale globally in 2026."

Remote-first hiring has become more common across software businesses since the pandemic, although many employers have since introduced hybrid policies or asked staff to return to offices. SciLeads' plan signals it expects to compete for talent with a flexible model at a time when skilled software engineers, product specialists and experienced sales staff often have a range of working arrangements to choose from.

Haldane said the ability to recruit across a broad geography is a practical advantage.

"As a remote company we've an excellent advantage in that we can recruit top talent from anywhere, so it means we not only have the best team but also the flexibility of working on our own terms," said Laura Haldane, co-founder.

Sector focus

SciLeads operates in a crowded market for business intelligence and data-driven sales tools, with life sciences companies among the most active buyers of market insight services. Commercial teams in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and related fields often track research trends, clinical progress, corporate activity and academic output when planning outreach, partnerships and sales.

The platform is described as providing insight into global scientific activity and linking that information to commercial use cases such as identifying relevant organisations and decision makers. Customers typically include business development and sales teams within life sciences suppliers and service providers.

SciLeads did not disclose revenue, profitability or specific hiring locations for the 60 roles. It also did not say whether the positions will be permanent or contract roles, or how the recruitment plan relates to changes in customer demand across different parts of the life sciences market.

Awards and rankings

In 2025, SciLeads said it was recognised at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards and ranked on the Deloitte Fast 50 Ireland list for the fifth consecutive year, which tracks high-growth firms based on revenue expansion.

Awards and rankings can help scaling technology firms improve recruitment and brand visibility, particularly in competitive hiring markets. They may also serve as external validation when engaging prospective customers and partners.

For Belfast and the wider Northern Ireland technology ecosystem, the announcement is another sign of growth among locally founded software companies selling internationally. Because the roles are remote-first, the economic impact is likely to be less tied to a single city-centre office footprint, reflecting how scaling firms can keep roots in one place while building distributed teams.

Recruitment is expected to continue through 2026 as SciLeads adds staff in engineering, product and go-to-market functions, with McRitchie pointing to further hiring "both here in the United Kingdom and across the Atlantic".