Head of Late Stage Formulation
Northern Ireland
A global veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer with a strong international footprint is expanding its R&D leadership team and is seeking an experienced Head of Late Stage Formulation.
The organisation develops and manufactures veterinary medicines supplied to over 100 countries worldwide, with significant ongoing investment in R&D and a robust pipeline of new product launches. This role offers the opportunity to lead a critical function at the interface of development, scale up, and commercial manufacture.
As Head of Late Stage Formulation, you will be the technical authority for late stage formulation development, leading a specialist scientific team responsible for ensuring formulations are robust, scalable, and ready for commercial manufacture.
You will play a key role in managing technical risk, applying Quality by Design (QbD) principles, and working cross functionally with Operations, Quality, Regulatory, and Manufacturing teams to support successful technology transfer.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the Late Stage Formulation team, ensuring high technical and quality standards
- Develop and optimise veterinary drug product formulations in line with (V)ICH guidelines
- Transfer formulations from early development into late stage scale up and commercial manufacture
- Apply QbD principles to strengthen process understanding and lock down critical process parameters
- Collaborate cross functionally to support scale up, validation, and handover to manufacturing
- Oversee reverse engineering, product characterisation, and stability studies
- Provide technical input into patent and intellectual property strategy
- Author and review technical documentation to support global regulatory submissions (FDA, EMA, VICH/ICH, Ph. Eur., BP, USP)
- Drive continuous improvement within the formulation function
- Train, develop, and mentor scientific staff, maintaining strong technical capability and compliance
About You
You are an experienced formulation scientist and people leader with a strong background in regulated pharmaceutical development.
Essential experience includes:
- Postgraduate degree in Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy, or a related discipline
- 5+ years' experience in drug product formulation development, scale up, and manufacture
- Strong working knowledge of GMP and global regulatory frameworks (FDA, EMA, VICH/ICH)
- Experience across a range of dosage forms within human or veterinary pharmaceuticals
- Proven experience leading and developing scientific teams
- Strong communication skills and a track record of effective cross functional collaboration
Why Apply?
- Lead a high impact formulation function within a globally active pharmaceutical manufacturer
- Play a key role in bringing new veterinary medicines to market
- Long term career opportunity within a growing, R&D driven organisation
- Competitive benefits package including pension, healthcare support, and generous annual leave
- Permanent, site based role with strong investment in facilities and people
Additional Information
- This role is based on a penicillin producing site and is not suitable for individuals with a penicillin allergy
- Applicants must have the right to work in the UK (visa sponsorship is not available)
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