Senior Research Associate, Formulations

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Flagship Pioneering is a platform innovation company that invents and builds companies that change the world. We bring together the greatest scientific minds with entrepreneurial company builders and assemble the capital to allow them to take courageous leaps. Those big leaps in human health sustainability and beyond exponentially accelerate scientific progress in areas ranging from disease detection and treatment and nature-positive agriculture to novel applications of AI that are driving the creation of new technologies.

What sets Flagship apart is our ability to advance science and technology by uniting innovation company creation and capital investment under one roof in a way that is largely without precedent. Our scientific founders entrepreneurial leaders and professional capital managers are each aligned around an institutionalized process that enables us to innovate and transform for the benefit of people and planet.

Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanitys most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19 curing intractable diseases improving human health preempting illness and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNEs Change the World list an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Companys annual list of the Worlds Most Innovative Companies.

THE ROLE

This role will be a foundational hire supporting our formulation and product development efforts with a primary focus on the development screening and optimization of dried powder formulations. The individual will play a critical hands-on role in executing formulation strategies using techniques such as lyophilization and spray drying while contributing experimental rigor physical insight and data-driven decision-making to early-stage platform development.

The Senior Research Associate will work closely with process development partners to produce robust stable and scalable addition to executing experiments this role will contribute to experimental design data interpretation and the establishment of best practices for formulation screening characterization and documentation in a fast-moving early-stage environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design execute and optimize dried powder formulations using lyophilization and spray drying with a focus on stability reproducibility and performance across multiple formulation variables;
• Execute formulation screening efforts using statistically grounded experimental designs (e.g. DoEs) including selection of factors responses and experimental conditions and translate results into actionable next steps;
• Evaluate the impact of excipients processing conditions and storage environments on material stability integrity and functionality including under accelerated or stress conditions;
• Characterize dried powder products using appropriate analytical and physical methods (e.g. particle size and morphology thermal analysis moisture content bulk properties) to inform formulation and process decisions;
• Support process development and scale-awareness by documenting critical parameters identifying sources of variability and generating data relevant to future scale-up tech transfer or external partnerships;
• Maintain clear rigorous experimental documentation and generate high-quality summaries figures and datasets suitable for internal decision-making patent disclosures and external communication;
• Contribute to the establishment of long-term formulation workflows best practices and standards that support platform development in a small highly collaborative team.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelors degree (with 5-7 years of relevant research experience) or Masters degree (with 3-5 years of relevant research experience) in chemistry chemical engineering pharmaceutical sciences materials science biotechnology or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience with drying-based formulation techniques including lyophilization and/or spray drying and an understanding of how process parameters influence solid-state properties;
• Strong grounding in physical chemistry or materials science principles relevant to dried systems including glass transition behavior crystallinity moisture interactions and excipient effects;
• Experience designing and executing statistically informed experiments (e.g. DoEs) with the ability to interpret interaction effects and use data to guide experimental iteration;
• Familiarity with analytical and characterization techniques for powders and solid-state materials (e.g. DSC TGA particle sizing microscopy bulk property measurements) and the ability to select fit-for-purpose methods;
• Familiarity with downstream processing operations (e.g. tangential flow filtration and other purification workflows);
• Proven ability to work independently in a dynamic early-stage research environment balancing hands-on execution with thoughtful experimental planning and cross-functional communication;
• Strong scientific documentation and communication skills with experience generating reproducible records and decision-enabling datasets;
• Embodies resilience and scientific rigor in pursuing complex technical questions by iteratively testing hypotheses and refining parameters through uncertainty to converge on robust optimized solutions.
• Demonstrated curiosity adaptability and comfort working across disciplines with an interest in translating early scientific concepts into robust scalable technologies.

LOCATION:Cambridge MA

ABOUT FLAGSHIP PIONEERING:

Flagship Pioneering invents and builds platform companies each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health sustainability and beyond. Since its launch in 2000 Flagship has originated more than 100 companies. Many of these companies have addressed humanitys most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19 curing intractable diseases improving human health preempting illness and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNEs Change the World list an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Companys annual list of the Worlds Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at.

At Flagship we accept impossible missions to enable bigger leaps. Our core values guide us through uncertainty and toward lasting impact.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

We recognize that great candidates often bring unique strengths without fulfilling every qualification. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all please apply anyway. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your background and interest in Flagship.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively FSP) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneerings internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

#LI-TL1

The salary range for this role is $81000 - $107250. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors including a candidates qualifications skills competencies and experience. Protocos currently offers healthcare coverage annual incentive program retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Protocoss good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.

Privacy Notice for Applicants:When you apply for a role at Flagship Pioneering or one of its portfolio companies we collect and use personal information you provide (such as your name contact details work history and application materials) to evaluate your application communicate with you and comply with legal obligations. Your application data is processed through Greenhouse our applicant tracking system and may also be reviewed using AI-assisted screening tools. We do not sell your personal information. California residents have rights under the CCPA/CPRA including to know delete and opt out of the sharing of their personal information. If you are located in the EU or UK we process your data under GDPR and you have rights to access rectify and erase your data. To exercise your rights or for questions contact