Principal Scientist, Formulations

C4 Therapeutics•Watertown, MA

About The Position

C4 Therapeutics (C4T) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new generation of medicines using targeted protein degradation science. The company utilizes its TORPEDO® platform to design and optimize small-molecule medicines for difficult-to-treat diseases, particularly in oncology. C4T's degrader medicines aim to leverage the body's natural protein recycling system to degrade disease-causing proteins, potentially overcoming drug resistance and addressing undruggable targets. This role is for an experienced Small Molecule Drug Product Formulation specialist to lead early-phase development and manufacturing scale-up of oral solid dose drug product candidates, driving them from pre-formulation characterization to GMP manufacturing for clinical trials. The position involves technical leadership of external contract manufacturing organizations, review of production records, and optimization of drug product formulations. It requires a blend of hands-on technical expertise and cross-functional leadership, collaborating with internal teams (Discovery, Supply Chain, Quality) and external CDMO partners.

Requirements

PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Formulation Sciences, or related scientific discipline.
Minimum of eight years of post-graduate experience, including industry experience.
Hands-on experience in formulation development, process optimization, scale-up, technology transfer, and manufacturing of solid oral and parenteral dosage forms of small molecules.
Excellent science-based problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.
Experience in a cross-functional drug product leadership role advancing clinical-stage programs.
Frequent interaction with internal and external stakeholders relevant to early & late-stage product development.
Strong written communication skills for authoring regulatory documents.
Familiarity with quality-by-design (QbD) approaches to drug product development.
Working knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) and Regulatory Guidance Documents as they relate to manufacture and quality testing of pharmaceutical products.
Experience with creating RFPs, and managing CDMOs performance for formulation development, process optimization, and manufacturing of drug product.
Ability to multi-task and manage several projects in parallel.
Ability to interpret and present data to all levels of stakeholders.
Ability to design tests and articulate results in an effective manner.
Sense of urgency to drive development progress.

Responsibilities

Lead phase-appropriate small molecule drug product formulation development for C4T’s clinical portfolio, applying scientific principles to design, optimize, and scale robust formulations that meet target product profiles, stability requirements, and clinical delivery needs.
Oversee formulation development, process optimization, scale-up, and technology transfer activities for oral drug products, working closely with external CDMOs and contract manufacturing partners to ensure scalable, GMP-compliant manufacturing processes.
Direct and evaluate the work of external scientists and suppliers, including vendor identification, RFP technical input, CDMO selection, and review of emerging formulation, manufacturing, and analytical data.
Provide technical leadership for engineering, clinical, and validation batches by reviewing master batch records, executed production documents, change controls, deviations, and analytical data to ensure alignment with GMP requirements and product specifications.
Support CMC strategy and regulatory readiness by authoring and reviewing technical memos, specifications, and relevant sections of regulatory filings, including INDs and IMPDs.
Serve as the drug product technical representative across Discovery, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Tech Ops, project management, and external partners, building effective relationships and helping establish efficient process development practices.