Senior Scientist Chemical Engineer, Chemical Development

Senior Scientist Chemical Engineer Chemical Development

Location: Macclesfield UK

Competitive salary and benefits

Opening date: 22/04/2026

Closing date: midnight 05/05/2026

AstraZeneca is a global innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company where we focus on the discovery development and delivery of life-saving medicines to our patients in addition to our belief in sustainability and determination to minimise the impact of our work on the environment. We are proud to be a great place to work and have a culture that inspires innovation and collaboration. We empower our colleagues to express diverse perspectives and at the same time feel valued respected and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.

Chemical Development

In Chemical Development we believe that nothing is impossible and we are compelled to push the boundaries of science to deliver medicines to our patients. We combine peoples technical knowledge and understanding with their talent and drive to design develop and optimise synthetic routes that deliver the active pharmaceutical ingredients of our medicines in a sustainable commercially viable way. We believe in innovation and continuous improvement working closely with colleagues in academia and across industry to ensure that we apply the newest technologies and principles in the processes we develop.

In our chemical engineering teams we currently have an open position for a Senior Scientist Chemical Engineer. The responsibilities and requirements of the position are outlined below.

As a Senior Scientist Chemical Engineer you will work closely with fellow chemical engineers chemists analysts and crystallisation scientists to develop optimise and scale-up chemical processes to deliver robust and sustainable drug substance manufacture including small molecules oligonucleotides synthetic peptides and drug linkers for antibody-drug conjugates.

Accountabilities:

Lead the engineering input into the development and optimisation of new chemical processes using both laboratory experimentation and in-silico modelling to build deep process understanding.

Assess scale-up and manufacturability to secure right-first-time manufacture smooth technical transfer and long-term viability of processes across internal and external facilities.

Perform environmental materials and process safety assessments in support of the accommodation of chemical processes in our internal manufacturing facility to deliver drug substance for clinical trials.

Partner with Contract Manufacturing Organisations worldwide providing engineering input into the scale up and accommodation of processes into external manufacturing facilities.

Champion and drive sustainability of drug substance processes by improving environmental footprint efficiency and patient access.

Contribute to the overall development of drug substance control strategies ensuring processes are fully understood and will robustly deliver the same drug substance quality.

Drive improvement projects and evaluate select and implement new manufacturing technologies that enhance capability and performance.

Mentor and supervise junior colleagues and students sharing knowledge and encouraging fresh thinking.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• A degree and / or PhD in Chemical Engineering.
• Experience in pharmaceutical/fine chemical/food manufacturing including batch and/or continuous operation.
• A well-developed understanding of unit operations such as mixing distillation liquid-liquid extraction solid phase synthesis chromatography tangential flow filtration isolation and drying and their dependency on scale and equipment.
• Ability to use modelling software (e.g. Aspen DynoChem gPROMS Computational Fluid Dynamics) to support process understanding.
• Good collaborative skills to enable effective working with different skillsets (e.g. with chemists analysts and physical properties experts).
• Good understanding of the requirements principles and application of process safety and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
• Strong communication and influencing skills

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Significant experience in a chemical/process engineering role in industry or equivalent.
• Experience of chemical process development scale up and / or technical transfer.
• Experience in evaluation and implementation of new manufacturing technologies.
• Experience in leading technical projects or acting as a lead process engineer on a project.
• Awareness of AI tools i.e. application of algorithms and applicability to Chemical Engineering process development and scale up.
• Experience collaborating with external partners

When we put unexpected teams in the same room we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing -person working gives us the platform we need to connect work at pace and challenge perceptions. Thats why we work on average a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesnt mean were not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

There are so many fantastic employee benefits that AstraZeneca can offer you: a competitive salary private healthcare a generous holiday allowance phenomenal training and development opportunities and much more.

At AstraZeneca were dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. Theres no better place to make a difference to medicine patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration. Always committed to lifelong learning growth and development.

Interested Come and join our journey!

Date Posted

Closing Date