Formulation Scientist

Job title: Scientist I

Location: West point PA

Duration:12 months

Pay rate: $36/hr.

Description:

Vaccine Drug Product Development, a part of ***’s Research Laboratories in West Point, PA, is seeking a Contract Scientist or Engineer to join our department for one year. The selected candidate will work as part of a team responsible for the design and development of vaccine drug products from preclinical through Phase III with a line of sight to commercialization. The successful candidate will work hands-on in a fast-paced laboratory and collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to develop the next generation of vaccine drug products.

Primary responsibilities include the design, execution, and documentation of laboratory activities supporting formulation of Client vaccine antigens (e.g., RNA, live virus vaccines, subunit, conjugate etc.), adjuvants, and delivery systems.

Responsibilities:

• Design and perform hypothesis-driven formulation and process development experiments for sterile vaccine drug products (buffers, stabilizers, antigen/adjuvant, vials, syringes) across multiple vaccine modalities (subunit, conjugate, live-attenuated, etc.).

• Prepare formulations and fill vials/syringes for characterization & animal studies using aseptic technique and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP); support transfer to GMP manufacturing.

• Conduct stability and forced-degradation studies; analyze data, summarize findings, and author technical reports and electronic notebook entries.

• Operate and troubleshoot benchtop unit operations (mixing, filtration, pumping, lyophilization), common lab instruments (pH, scales, pipettes), and analytical tools (DLS, SLS, KF, DSC, DSF)

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (discovery, analytical, manufacturing, regulatory) to meet project timelines and deliverables.

• Continuously learn and apply current literature, methods, and technologies to improve formulations and processes.

• Support selected analytical studies on formulated products such as osmolality, viscosity, pH, and dynamic light scattering.

• Follow safe laboratory practices and maintain the work area in a clean orderly and safe manner.

• Draft, review and execute protocols for batch manufacture.

Quals--

Minimum Education Requirements:

B.S. in Chemical/Biochemical/Biomedical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Immunology, Materials Science, or related field with 1- 3 years of relevant experience.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Hands-on laboratory experience (academic or industry) with basic sterile technique, buffer preparation, and sample handling.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills; experience documenting experiments in electronic or paper lab notebooks.

• Basic data analysis skills and ability to summarize and visualize experimental results

• Scientific and mechanical aptitude and experience maintaining, designing, and/or operating scientific equipment and machinery.

• Ability to follow safe laboratory practices and maintain work area in a clean orderly and safe manner.

• Team-oriented, motivated to learn, and able to manage multiple priorities under technical supervision.

• Comfortable working in a face-paced environment and adapting to change

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Familiarity with biophysical/biochemical analytical methods (e.g., DLS, HPLC, SDS-PAGE, UV/Vis).

• Understanding of aseptic/formulation processes in a non-GMP or GMP environment.

• Familiarity with statistical/design-of-experiments tools (JMP, Minitab) or numerical software (Matlab).

• A desire to develop complex pharmaceutical products and continuously learn.

• A passion to contribute to the development of pharmaceutical products with a significant potential to impact global human health.

Preferred candidates will have experience in drug product development techniques (e.g. formulation, filtration, analytical/biochemical/biophysical characterization, and process development).