Director, Oral Formulation Sciences

MSD•Rahway, NJ

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Our company's Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Supply (PSCS) organization translates molecules to medicines, working from the discovery interface through registration stability manufacturing by designing, developing, and scaling-up the formulation, device, and manufacturing process. Driving drug product design from the benchtop to current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing facilities, our scientists use cutting edge science to transform drug delivery and manufacturing technology to positively impact patients. The Director of Oral Formulation Sciences will lead a team of scientists and engineers responsible for the formulation and process development of our oral product pipeline. The individual will be accountable for driving program strategy and translating into effective execution from discovery exit through commercial process definition. The individual stands at the vanguard of commercial product development, ensuring that our capabilities, talent, and operating model are developed and maintained to effectively foster a dynamic and complex pipeline. They will help to create an entrepreneurial culture which values diversity in all its forms as a catalyst to innovation and product creation, recognizes the freedom to experiment and fail, is a safe environment to challenge, nurtures a strong sense of belonging, and motivates all to achieve their potential. Critically, the individual will drive a culture of perpetual adherence to safety and compliance standards. A successful candidate should have extensive drug product development experience, an affinity for hands-on problem solving, and excellent leadership and communication skills.

Requirements

Knowledge of oral drug product formulation and process development
Sponsors and drives a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization
Effective interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written
Excellent organizational skills to handle multiple priorities
Track record of independent problem-solving
Experience with leading complex teams / matrix management
Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences or related scientific field with a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience or B.S. or M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences or related scientific field with a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience

Nice To Haves

Experience leading development projects at an enterprise level
Experience with leading complex teams / matrix management
Strong mentoring capabilities to build individuals and teams
Demonstrated ability to apply the principles of physical/organic chemistry, physical pharmacy, and materials science to solve practical pharmaceutical development problems
Recognized as a subject matter expert in drug delivery and/or manufacturing technology
Demonstrated ability to identify, characterize, and solve development challenges
Desire to build new capabilities through the evaluation of new technologies and optimization of existing technologies
Ability to engage others to build a strong scientific community and address drug delivery challenges
Demonstrated understanding of connectivity between clinical development, chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) and commercial marketing, balancing the needs of patients and ensuring successful launch and stable supply of product
Encourages others to explore alternative ways to view and solve problems in innovative ways to achieve results

Responsibilities

Drives development of new, innovative approaches for product development, experimental designs, execution of experimental plans and data analysis to impact pipeline development and set strategic direction
Manages, develops, and grows a team of scientists and engineers, tasked with developing and commercializing the company’s oral product pipeline
Collaborates effectively within and across functional areas and possesses advanced knowledge or experience in oral drug product development. The desired individual is someone who will bring knowledge and creativity to the position as well as have the discipline to drive results.
Maintains awareness of relevant new and current technologies, capabilities, and effectively shares this knowledge with others
Drives internal capability development by evaluating new drug product technologies and deploying new technologies to develop pipeline assets
Establishes and manages expense and capital expenditure financial budgets and forecasts
Recruits and develops staff, through objective setting, rewards and recognition, stretch leadership and/or technical assignments, and learning opportunities that broaden experience
Sponsors and drives a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization