Scientific Leader Preparative Chromatography, Chemical Development

Location: Macclesfield

Competitive Salary & Benefits

Date Posted: 07.09.21

Make a more meaningful impact to patients’ lives around the globe

Here you’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful difference to patients’ lives. With science at its heart, this is the place where breakthroughs born in the lab become transformative medicines – for the world’s most complex diseases. Answer unmet medical needs by pioneering the next wave of science, focusing on outcomes and shaping the patient ecosystem.

We are currently recruiting for a Scientific Leader specialising in preparative chromatography, to join our analytical group within Chemical Development. In this team, we are dedicated to the development of clinical and commercial active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) at AstraZeneca across a range of small and large molecules.

Chemical Development sits within Pharmaceutical Technology and Development (PT&D), the bridge, which turns brilliant science into actual medicines that help millions of people. Working across the entire value chain, we craft and deliver the active ingredients, formulations and devices required to support new medicines – from supplies for use in early toxicology studies and clinical trials to developing the technology to ensure drugs can be scaled up for commercial manufacture.

What you’ll do

As an experienced preparative chromatographer, with a proven track record of delivering small and medium scale purification process to a development function, you will be responsible for leading and building the introduction of fast small scale purification (<1g) to the chemical development function.

In this role you will provide analytical leadership into scientific strategy and pharmaceutical development delivery teams, to develop new working practices aimed at speeding up overall development times. Working collaboratively with analysts, process chemists, engineers and external partners to achieve a successful delivery, you will design and deliver a new small scale preparative capability to meet the future demands of the development lifecycles. The role encompasses some or all the following key drivers, depending on the stage of clinical development; speed, quality, cost, sustainability, efficiency, control strategy, robustness and understanding.

Responsibilities include:

• Providing scientific and technical leadership across the skill groups integrating preparative chromatography into our existing scientific strategies

• Demonstrating scientific leadership and strategic development of preparative chromatography champions its use in supporting drug projects

• Representing Chemical Development on internal and external scientific bodies

• Crafting, delivering and running, a preparative chromatography capability in line with Chemical Development long term demands, delivering capital and workforce planning estimates to ensure the smooth running of this area

• Leading improvement projects to optimise preparative chromatography provision

• Working in teams to deliver infrastructure improvements to appropriately mitigate SHE risks of semi-preparative/preparative scale chromatography

• Working closely with the AS global separation science and preparative chromatography community ensuring efficient knowledge and resource sharing

• Coaching and developing junior colleagues, supporting them in reaching their full potential

• Identifying and solving potential issues, and acting as an interface between departments

• Contributing to the development of Chemical Development to support AstraZeneca's portfolio, defining, and delivering continuous improvement plans

All these activities will have a significant impact on the speed, quality and cost of the AZ commercial portfolio, the overall success of the Supply Chain, as well as ensuring the commercial viability of the medicine.

​

What you’ll need

• BSc/PhD level education in a relevant discipline and significant experience working in the field of preparative chromatography within a Research & Development and Manufacturing environment, within the pharmaceutical industry

• A good understanding of the application of preparative techniques such as LC and SFC as they are applied in the Pharmaceutical industry in the small to medium scale

• Experience of technical supervision, coaching and mentoring or leading small teams of people or scientific projects

• A specialist in non-linear and linear chromatography with knowledge of how to develop methodology to ensure purification of right yield and purity within the fast timeframes required in Pharmaceutical development

• An understanding of key complimentary analytical techniques, including NMR, chromatography and mass spectrometry

• A thorough understanding of the principles and management of SHE

• Experience in the use of automation and semi-automated preparative instrumentation and sample recovery would be an advantage

Skills and capabilities

• Ability to think and operate across functional boundaries, challenge the status quo and seek opportunities for business improvement

• Ability to analyse and interpret complex situations and provide clear strategic direction

• Excellent communication and strategic influencing skills across interfaces of discipline, culture, and expertise both internally and externally

• Proven problem solver with in depth technical skills

• Demonstrates a high degree of personal credibility and end to end supply chain thinking

• The ability to expertly lead improvement projects

• Experience of supporting clinical and commercial manufacture and working with contract manufacturing organisations

• Application of risk based approaches in project delivery

Join a place built on innovation and creativity. Where different views and perspectives are encouraged and valued. An environment that champions inclusion, and teams that reflect the diversity of the communities that we serve.

AstraZeneca can offer you a competitive salary, private healthcare, training and development opportunities, and much more.

So what’s next?

Please include your current CV and a covering letter which presents your key areas of strength / development and why you should be considered for the role. Please submit your application by 20th September 2021.

Close Date: 20.09.21

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.