Material Characterization Lead-ARD

Why Patients Need You  

Pfizer’s purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Research and Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer’s purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies and vaccines that matter most. Whether you are in the discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy or supporting clinical trials, you will apply cutting edge design and process development capabilities to accelerate and bring the best-in-class medicines to patients around the world.  

What You Will Achieve  

Analytical Research and Development (ARD) in Pharmaceutical Sciences Small Molecule group at Pfizer is working diligently to bring new cutting-edge medicines to patients around the world.  Our team members use the latest science and technology to characterize and develop drug candidates from discovery to commercial launch.  As an Associate Research Fellow in ARD and as lead of the Material Characterization group, you and your team will lead multiple projects and be accountable for the analytical development to assess the chemical and physical properties of Pfizer’s newest drug candidates, evaluate their suitability for progression into clinical studies and, ultimately, to commercialization.  Your background in material science and analytical chemistry will position you for success in this multi-facetted role. You will have a strong passion for developing early career scientists and be skilled at guiding them to solve difficult technical problems as well as leading project teams in the development of new medicines.  You will also be constantly looking for ways to improve the speed and efficiency of scientific and business processes used in the analytical development of Pfizer medicines.

A knowledge of material science, formulation, and analytical science is desirable for this technical leadership position. In addition, experience in working as part of a multidisciplinary organization is vital for your success. You will be responsible for the continuous enhancement of technical skills, scientific knowledge, and personal growth of colleagues on the projects you are accountable for and for yourself. You will also have the opportunity to grow your skills as a people leader and your influence within ARD and with other groups at Pfizer. The successful candidate will have a proven track record in material science and analytical development and extensive experience in team and people leadership. It is also advantageous to have pharmaceutical product development experience.

Through your expertise and extensive knowledge, you will be able to foster a culture that promotes innovation and thrives on doing better for patients and healthcare. 

ROLE SUMMARY

This colleague will be responsible for leading the Material Characterization Group, which covers Forensic Analysis as well as a growing interest in quantitative material characterization techniques and methodologies. This group covers application and use of tools such as optical microscopy, digital imaging, SEM, FTIR, RAMAN, XRM, particle sizing, and other relevant techniques for the understanding and measurement of material attributes. This role is also anticipated to work across department and organizational lines to ensure quality measurements and methods support the portfolio activities across the Pfizer network.

Additionally, the group is expected to work with partner organizations outside the Pfizer network. The team supports all pharmaceutical drug products (DP) across drug development phases, including, but not limited to supporting manufacturing process development, developing, validating and transferring analytical methods, designing stability studies for shelf-life assignments, and developing attribute control strategies.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and collaborate with colleagues and subject matter experts across ARD to assess the most appropriate analytical approach to support project activities, including use of on- and off-line analytical methodologies and computational predictive tools, modelling software and data visualization tools, where appropriate.
• Oversee the lab work of colleagues on your team(s).
• Coach team members to communicate and collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary team members, in presenting data at team meetings and in solving technical challenges that arise during development.
• Effectively interact and be able to influence colleagues at all levels