Formulation Group Lead Scientist

Formulation Group Lead Scientist

Eurofins

Sittingbourne, United Kingdom

The primary purpose of this role is to lead an off-site Professional Scientific Services (PSS) team of technical staff to ensure that team is operating at the highest quality and productivity standards, has high morale and retention, and the agreed client requirements are entirely satisfied and that client expectations are met or exceeded through effective leadership and quality operational management. This person will be a key point of contact for the client on a day-to-day basis.

In general the On Site Leader is expected to spend up to 20% of their time on leadership duties, and at least 80% of their time on their technical or administrative based activities. This will flex depending on priorities and client work must never be compromised in favour of internal Eurofins activities.

• Effectively coordinating and leading the PSS team so that productivity, quality, documentation, work schedules, safety and housekeeping are run at maximum efficiency;
• Development, coaching, motivation, and morale of team members through effective teambuilding and use of reward and recognitions systems celebrating team success;
• Communicating regularly with the client and Eurofins to ensure information is shared effectively and actions are taken immediately;
• Carrying out performance appraisals (PAD) with staff as part of the overall performance management programme within the organisation;
• Holding regular one to one’s with team members to monitor performance and support professional development;
• Handling any client related queries where necessary and liaising with their team and with personnel from other teams to problem solve these queries if needed;
• To participate as required in any investigations associated with the team deliverables;
• Support formulation platform screening to assess API properties and suitability for; liquid suspension, phospholipid/liposomal formulations in addition to lipid-based semi-solid or liquid in capsule formulations;
• Practical support for small scale manufacturing and pre-formulation activities for the development of drug product batches to be utilized in oral solid dosage forms, including planning, execution (including set up and clean down) and writing up of lab work. Examples may include but not limited to Spray drying, solvent injection, roller compaction, blending, tablet compression, coating, encapsulation as well supporting in-use stability activities;
• Product and Materials characterization support (including techniques such tablet characterization, Particle Size Analysis, powder flow, and bulk properties of formulations such as rheology and polymer characterization);
• Interpretation of data and contributing to writing internal development protocols and reports;
• Write laboratory reports ensuring accurate and timely data reporting and analysis is maintained;
• Supporting design, prototype and scale up of drug product formulations and manufacturing processes;
• Provide technical support to downstream activities, including product control strategy, technology transfer and launch, and relevant protocols and reports;
• Equipment and instrumentation ownership, assisting with the maintenance, upkeep and calibration;
• Assist in wider scientific capability development, via relevant internal technical networks, and ongoing Technology initiatives;
• Research, compile and summarise information from multiple sources (internal reports, pharmacopeia, scientific literature, handbooks etc) to inform gap analysis and formulation development;
• Conduct analysis using fully electronic media including e Notebook;
• Support continuous improvement processes;
• Perform and assist in additional duties as directed by the client contact;
• Familiarisation with electronic lab notebooks and ALCOA principles for the recording of data;
• Write or constructively review SOP’s, Protocols, technical reports, risk assessments as required.

Qualifications

• A degree in Chemistry or a related discipline is required;
• A sound, fundamental knowledge and practical application of Organic Chemistry to pharmaceutical drug design is essential;
• Experience of Leadership & Management;
• Appropriate relevant experience of Material Science and analytical tools and techniques within a group organisation;
• Good foundation and experience with traditional analytical techniques as well as modern instrumental equipment (e.g., Particle size, PXRD, DSC, TGA). Must possess sound knowledge of analysis methods and tools;
• Knowledge of DoE's (Design of Experiments e.g. Use of Minitab);
• Knowledge of material science would also be of benefit.