Senior Scientist (Solid-State Chemistry & Molecular Materials Science) Full-time

Senior Scientist (Solid-State Chemistry & Molecular Materials Science)

Location: Macclesfield, UK

Introduction to the Role:

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-centered biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing, and commercializing 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 talented and motivated Senior Scientist (Solid-State Chemistry & Molecular Materials Science) to join our Analytical Science & Technology team in Macclesfield (UK). This is a role for a scientist who can move beyond describing what is observed to explain why materials behave as they do, how that behavior influences product performance, and what actions ensure robust pharmaceutical products.

About the Role:

In this position, you will strengthen our solid-state science capability by applying molecular-level insight to design innovative and robust pharmaceutical materials. You will expand our expertise in solid-state physical chemistry and molecular materials science across heterogeneous systems and complex amorphous or disordered API–excipient interfaces, enabling the next generation of oral and inhaled medicines. Your project-based experience, digital mindset and drive to transform pharmaceutical development make you a strong candidate.

You will join a global team with strong expertise in small-molecule crystalline and disordered materials and complex drug product characterisation. You will complement these capabilities through molecular engineering of complex therapeutic materials and molecular-scale solid-state characterisation. Working across systems from crystalline combinations to amorphous solid dispersions, co-amorphous, spray-dried and co-processed materials, you will define and interpret the attributes that influence performance, stability and manufacturability.

This is not a role focused on routine crystalline form assessment. As a solid-state and materials science subject-matter expert embedded within drug product teams, you will provide the molecular-level understanding needed to design robust products and processes. Working from clinical through commercial phases, you will partner with formulators, process engineers, biopharmaceutics experts, analysts and external collaborators, combining hands-on experimentation with computational and data-driven approaches to turn mechanistic insight into robust, scalable products.

Typical accountabilities:

• Lead and deliver solid-state science activities that underpin drug product projects, ensuring delivery to agreed milestones, with a particular focus on complex amorphous and disordered systems across oral and inhalation platforms.
• Define and drive the identification of Critical Molecularly Driven Material Attributes across drug substances, excipients, intermediate drug products and their impacts on product performance and manufacturing process robustness.
• Design and conduct laboratory-based experimental activities to assess solid-state risks and probe drug–excipient interactions to define material control strategies.
• Deconvolute how material attributes influence product performance via, for example, wetting, hydration, disintegration, swelling, gel formation, molecular dissolution, supersaturation, precipitation and recrystallisation, and provide a solid-state and materials perspective on biopharmaceutical performance, in collaboration with biopharmaceutics and drug product colleagues.
• Investigate how molecular descriptors of materials, their component interactions, or processing conditions influence particle or heterogeneous system formation, phase distribution, internal gradients and surface composition, using chemically, spatially and time-resolved approaches where appropriate.
• Translate mechanistic understanding into practical material, process and product-performance control — distinguishing advanced mechanistic methods from fit-for-purpose control methods that are reproducible, transferable and suitable for stability and continuous manufacturing environments.
• Drive digital-first strategies and apply in silico approaches (e.g. molecular modelling, informatics, chemometrics, generative models or simulations) alongside experimental work to accelerate development decisions and predict solid-state behaviour and its impact on product performance.
• Represent solid-state science on drug product projects, collaborating with analysts, formulators and process engineers at the drug substance–drug product interface to integrate risk-based material strategies into product design, driving innovation, robustness and regulatory readiness. Engage with external partners to extend capability, oversee outsourced work, and support material characterisation and method transfer as needed.
• Author and review technical documentation, including development reports and contributions to CMC regulatory submissions, health-authority responses, and briefing documents aligned to intensified regulatory expectations on solid-state attributes and excipient performance.
• Contribute to developing the global solid-state community by acting as coach and mentor, giving timely feedback, and advancing the science through internal knowledge-sharing and external collaboration.

Required skills and knowledge:

• PhD, or MSc with equivalent industrial experience, in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, materials science, spectroscopy or a related discipline, together with significant experience in pharmaceutical development.
• Deep expertise in the molecular-level characterisation and interpretation of complex pharmaceutical materials, particularly amorphous, disordered, heterogeneous or multi-component systems, with the ability to connect molecular structure, composition and interactions to material behaviour and product performance.
• Broad hands-on experience in pharmaceutical solid-state characterisation, including the ability to integrate complementary datasets and select fit-for-purpose methods for mechanistic understanding and routine control.
• Strong understanding of how material attributes, solid-state properties and molecular interactions influence drug substance and drug product developability, including stability, manufacturability, dissolution, performance and control strategy.
• Ability to operate across the full interpretive chain, from data analysis and molecular mechanism to product implication and practical control, framing the right question and choosing the right approach.
• Proven ability to lead scientific activities within multidisciplinary teams, solve complex problems, prioritise effectively and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to translate complex datasets into clear scientific conclusions and actionable development recommendations.
• Digital fluency and curiosity, with the ability to use modern data, computational, automation and AI-enabled tools to improve scientific understanding and accelerate project delivery.

Desirable skills and knowledge

• Practical and theoretical expertise in solid-state NMR, particularly applied to molecular interactions, local environments, molecular mobility, phase behaviour or amorphous systems.
• Familiarity with polymorph screening, complex form landscapes and crystalline form selection as complementary context to the primary focus on complex and disordered systems.
• Experience supporting higher molecular weight or otherwise complex molecules and formulations, with an understanding of how molecular architecture and physical-state behaviour influence developability and product performance.
• Understanding of the relationship between solid-state properties, dissolution and solution behaviour, including supersaturation, precipitation, aggregation, colloidal association and phase transformations.
• Experience investigating material evolution during processing, storage or use through advanced, in situ, spatially resolved or time-resolved characterisation, including processes such as granulation, compaction, drying, coating, spray drying or extrusion.
• Experience applying computational or data-driven approaches such as Python, scripting, informatics, chemometrics, multivariate analysis, predictive modelling, generative AI or automated scientific workflows.
• Experience with external partners, CMC regulatory authoring, technology transfer or work in GLP/GMP or other highly regulated environments.
• Evidence of scientific excellence through publications, patents, conference presentations or contribution to scientific communities.

The person we are looking for

You are a curious and collaborative scientist who can frame the right question, choose the right approach and turn complex evidence into clear project impact. You are motivated by understanding why materials behave as they do, which attributes are genuinely critical and how scientific insight can be converted into robust pharmaceutical products, processes and control strategies.

Ready to make a difference?