Senior Material Scientist – Pharmaceutical Product Development Full-time

Senior Material Scientist

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-centred pharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing, and commercialising prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. But we're more than a global leading pharma company. At AstraZeneca, we're dedicated to being a Great Place to Work and empowering employees to push the boundaries of science and fuel their entrepreneurial spirit.

In Pharmaceutical Technology and Development (PT&D) we are the bridge between brilliant science and innovative medicines that help millions of people. We work across the entire value chain, designing and delivering 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.

We are looking for a dedicated and motivated Senior Material Scientist to join our Material Design team in Gothenburg (Sweden). In this role, you will get the opportunity to strengthen our capabilities in material science applied to our wide range of portfolio across oral, inhaled, and parenteral dosage forms. Your project-based scientific experience in material science, combined with a strong digital approach and a drive to apply physical chemistry to transform pharmaceutical development, makes you a perfect candidate.

You will join a global team of material scientists driving the development of innovative small molecule drug products across parenteral, inhaled, and oral platforms. Your role will be pivotal at the interface of raw materials, drug product processes, and in-vivo performance, supporting drug projects from clinical through commercial phases. You will partner closely with formulators, process engineers, analysts, and external collaborators to advance projects from late-stage development through to commercialisation. You will operate at the interfaces and strengthen our understanding of how critical material attributes influence process robustness and product performance.

You will deliver material science knowledge combining theory, hands-on lab-based experiments with modeling/simulation/prediction that encompasses understanding of manufacturing processes, control strategy, robustness, and stability related to pharmaceutical drug development. You will also work with multiple internal and external interfaces, supporting drug projects from the early clinical phase through to commercial filings.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver material science activities and support drug product projects to ensure delivery to agreed achievements.
• Define and drive the identification and understanding of critical material attributes (e.g. drug substances, excipients, intermediate drug products) and their impact on product performance and/or manufacture process robustness, including impact of material variability, drug substance-excipient interactions and stability.
• Design and conduct lab-based experimental activities to assess materials risks, probe substance–excipient interactions, deliver robust material science plans and develop comprehensive materials controls strategies along with solid state scientists to support projects as Material Design skill lead.
• Drive digital-first strategies and apply in silico approaches (e.g. molecular modelling, generative AI models or simulations) to accelerate formulation decisions and predict critical parameters and their impact on product performance.
• Represent material science on projects and collaborate with analysts, formulators, and process engineers at the drug substance–drug product interface to integrate risk-based materials strategies into product design to drive innovation, robustness, and regulatory readiness.
• Develop appropriate methods to support formulation development, and perform phase appropriate validation as required, in accordance with relevant guidelines.
• Engage with external partners to extend capability, oversee outsourced work, and support material characterisation and/or method transfer as needed.
• Author and review technical documentation, including development reports and contributions to regulatory documents as well as responding to health authority questions.
• Lead or contribute to the development of AI-tools supporting material characterisation methods and/or studies (e.g. predict bulk powder properties, compaction etc.).

Required Skills & Knowledge

• PhD and/or BSc/MSc with a few years of industrial experience in a field relevant to Material Science, Physical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences/Technology, Chemical Engineering or related field.
• Demonstrated experience of techniques used to investigate material behaviours for small molecules specifically key physical properties including excellent understanding of principles of physical chemistry related to surface properties, and particle characterization and bulk powder behaviour.
• Proven experience in material science characterization (particle size, surface, morphology, imaging and powder flow properties).
• Advanced practical expertise in characterization methods such as powder rheometry (RST, FT4), particle size by laser diffraction or dynamic light scattering, pycnometry, specific surface area by BET and SEM imaging.
• Understanding of how to develop relationships between material attributes, product processing and product performance.
• Proven ability to lead scientific activities in multi-disciplinary teams, prioritise effectively, and deliver to timelines and to a high-quality standard.
• Ability to tackle complex scientific problems and troubleshooting collaboratively with a positive attitude.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex datasets and challenges clearly to diverse partners.

Desirable Skills & Knowledge

• Experience of pharmaceutical development & manufacturability aspects relevant to oral solid dose manufacturing technologies (such as, Continuous Direct Compression, Roller Compaction, Wet Granulation etc.)
• Knowledge of tools for multivariate analysis, data visualization and predictive modelling packages.
• Familiarity with GenAI tools and their possible implementation in the day-to-day life in the role as Material Scientist.
• Familiarity with solid state characterization and impact of solid form on particle and bulk powder properties as well as understanding of drug product process-induced transformations that may impact performance of final product.
• Experience with structure-informatics for prediction of particle properties.
• Experience working with outsourced partners (CMOs/CROs), including study oversight, and tech transfer support.
• Experience contributing to CMC regulatory authoring (e.g. module/sections, responses to questions) and/or supporting regulatory interactions.
• Evidence of scientific excellence through publications and/or conference presentations.
• Experience operating under GLP/GMP standards within a pharmaceutical industry or highly regulated environment.

When we put diverse teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace, and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Ready to make a difference? We welcome your application, CV and cover letter clearly stating how your experience aligns to the scope of the role, no later than April 7th, 2026 and join us on this exciting journey!

Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.