Principal Engineer; Spray Drying

We have an open position within our Pharmaceutical Technology and Development (PT&D) department located in Durham, NC. PT&D is the bridge, which turns brilliant science into actual medicines that help millions of people. We work across the entire value chain, designing and delivering active ingredients, formulations, and devices required to support new medicines – from supplies for use in early toxicology studies and clinical trials to developing the technology to ensure drugs can be scaled up for commercial manufacture.

Make a positive impact, in a team where it means more. In Operations, we have a big ambition. to deliver more medicines to patients, quicker and more affordable. Backed by investment, leadership, and a clear plan to get there, we bring personal dedication and out-of-the-box thinking.

Accountable for performance and results across multiple teams within Pharmaceutical Science, this role provides strategic, tactical, and scientific leadership with a primary focus on Spray Drying for solid dose. It leads technology transfer and scale‑up of spray‑dried dispersions from lab to pilot and commercial manufacture, sets departmental objectives and plans, ensures robust process development and validation, and serves as a subject‑matter expert.

The role drives innovation and execution excellence, trains and develops others, and influences strategic direction while ensuring compliance and business delivery.

As Principal Engineer (Spray Drying), you will be responsible for coordinating and leading spray drying process design, development and optimization on late-stage oral solid dose and inhaled drug product development projects. Building manufacturing process robustness, scale up, modelling and simulation capability to progress the development of both small and large molecules within a dynamic team environment will be your key focus.

To deliver these goals, you will work and coordinate collaboratively across boundaries with colleagues with diverse scientific expertise e.g. analysts, formulators, engineers, data scientists, materials scientists and other disciplines e.g clinical supply chain, project leadership, regulatory, outsourcing.

• Lead our engineering capability in spray drying, to design and develop robust manufacturing processes for new pharmaceutical formulations, ensuring scalability and compliance with industry standards.

• Evaluate, select, and specify spray drying equipment and technologies that best meet project and production requirements.

• Work effectively with colleagues across Global Product Development, and at our manufacturing partners, to define critical process parameters (CPPs) that influence product quality, in consideration of the wider product control strategy

• Take the lead in defining the regulatory strategy for spray drying in drug products

• Drive effective technical risk management to ensure that appropriate activities are conducted throughout development to deliver robust commercial manufacture

• Expedite adoption and advancement of in silico process modelling and control in spray drying

• Lead technology transfer, scale up and process validation approaches in spray drying

• Provide leadership and coaching to other scientists and engineers within the group, supporting their development to build capability essential to the delivery of the present and future project portfolio.

• Demonstrate creativity and innovation, driving and supporting a culture of scientific excellence in projects.

• Stay updated on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in spray drying to foster innovation within the organization.

• BSc/PhD level education in a relevant Engineering field (Packaging Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Chemical Engineering), or in Pharmaceutical Sciences with related experience in the device and biopharmaceutical industry is essential.

• Solid Dose Spray Drying experience

• Minimum 5 years experience

• Industrial experience in pharmaceutical spray drying with a degree in chemical engineering or a closely related scientific discipline.

• Experience and thorough understanding of the…