Senior Scientist

Senior Scientist – Analytical Development, GPD

Location: Durham, NC

Are you an analytical scientist with robust method development experience for oral solid dosage forms and a passion for finding innovative solutions in pharmaceutical testing? AstraZeneca’s Global Product Development (GPD) team is seeking a Senior Scientist to enhance analytical development capabilities in the growing oral solid portfolio and give innovative analytical approaches to the existing inhaled portfolio.

At AstraZeneca, we put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide. Working here means being bold, thinking big, and working together to make the impossible a reality. If you are swift to action, confident to lead, willing to collaborate, and curious about what science can do, then you’re our kind of person.

Within Global Product Development, we are seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Scientist with a strong background in oral solid dosage forms, preferably with experience across multiple drug modalities, to drive AZ’s critical projects through development to commercialization. In this impactful role, you will drive analytical method development, validation, product characterization and investigational testing, cGMP testing support, technology implementation, and play a central role in establishing and optimizing laboratory capabilities for oral solid dosage analysis.

You’ll work collaboratively across interdisciplinary global teams to drive projects forward and contribute to regulatory submission activities, while also helping motivate team adoption of emerging AI/ML tools that can enhance analytical data interpretation and workflow efficiency. The role will be located in Durham, North Carolina, USA, but is part of AZ’s Global Product Development organization with additional sites in Gothenburg, Sweden and Macclesfield, UK.

GPD’s vision is to work in seamless ways that bring the best of our collective scientific capabilities to develop and deliver innovative and sustainable medicines, making a meaningful impact on patients’ quality of life. Within the role, your analytical support will range from early phase development work to late-stage cGMP testing and will involve authoring regulatory submission documents across dosage form boundaries (e.g. oral and inhaled).

The ideal candidate will be energetic and focused, with a can‑do attitude and strong problem‑solving and data analytics skills. Extensive experience working with oral solid dosage forms is a must and candidate should be able to lead the project with minimum oversight. You will join a highly collaborative international team supporting various projects across different development life cycles.

• Lead and perform analytical method development, validation, product characterization, and routine investigational and clinical release testing, working on inhaled and oral products as needed.
• Play a key role in establishing, equipping, and optimizing laboratory setups for oral solid dosage (OSD) testing capabilities.
• Provide technical and strategic input on analytical issues relevant to OSD and, where required, across other modalities and/or dosage formats (e.g. inhaled, parenteral).
• Author and review analytical documentation to support regulatory submissions, ensuring compliance with GMP/GxP expectations including response to regulatory inquiries.
• Champion laboratory automation technologies to improve efficiency and reliability in sample preparation, method execution, and data analysis.
• Demonstrate an active interest in using AI/ML and other data science tools to enhance analytical results interpretation and workflow performance.

• Bachelor’s degree in Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree and a minimum of 4-6 years of experience.
• Minimum of 8 years experience working with oral solid dosage forms.
• Strong background in analytical development for oral solid dosage forms. Preferred candidates will also have experience with testing inhaled products.
• Demonstrated experience in method…