Senior Scientist, Microbiology and Sterility Assurance

GSK • Marietta, PA

5d • Onsite

About The Position

At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. Our R&D focuses on discovering and delivering vaccines and medicines, combining our understanding of the immune system with cutting-edge technology to transform people’s lives. GSK fosters a culture ambitious for patients, accountable for impact, and committed to doing the right thing, making sure that we focus our efforts on accelerating significant assets that meet patients’ needs and have the highest probability of success. We’re uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. Find out more: Our approach to R&D This position will initially be located at the GSK’s Upper Merion site in Upper Merion, Pennsylvania from 2025 to 2027/2028, and will permanently move to Marietta, Pennsylvania afterwards. Position Summary You will join a team that ensures medicines reach patients safely. In this senior scientist role you will lead microbiology and sterility assurance activities for a sterile R&D manufacturing facility. You will work closely with manufacturing, quality, and development teams to prevent contamination and support product release. We value practical laboratory skills, clear communication, and a mindset for continuous improvement. This role offers growth, a chance to make a measurable impact on patient safety, and alignment with GSK’s mission to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology, Biology, Biotechnology, or a related scientific discipline.
• Minimum 3 years’ hands-on experience in a pharmaceutical, biotech, or sterile manufacturing microbiology laboratory.
• Experience with environmental monitoring, aseptic techniques, gowning, and contamination control.
• cGMP principles and experience working to regulatory quality standards.
• Experience performing bioburden, sterility, endotoxin testing, and microbial identifications.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (Master’s) in Microbiology or related field.
• Experience with method development, validation, or transfers for microbiological assays.
• Familiarity with pharmacopeial microbiology standards and compendial methods.
• Experience using laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and electronic documentation.
• Prior experience reviewing microbiology data for regulatory submissions or CMC support.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical investigations and communicate findings clearly to stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide hands-on microbiology support for sterile operations, including aseptic processing, environmental monitoring, and gowning qualifications.
• Lead investigations of unexpected microbiological results and drive corrective actions with clear root cause and risk assessment.
• Perform and review routine microbiological testing: bioburden, sterility, endotoxin, microbial identifications, and water testing.
• Develop, revise, and approve microbiological methods, SOPs, and sampling plans that support product release and stability programs.
• Partner with manufacturing, quality, and development teams to define and implement contamination control and sterility assurance strategies.
• Support validation activities, method transfers, and evaluation of rapid microbiological technologies.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees