Investigator, Chemical Development

Site Name: UK - Hertfordshire - Stevenage

Posted Date: Mar

We are looking for an Investigator, Chemical Development to join our team.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the development, optimization, implementation, and management of robust, cost effective, and safe processes for the manufacture of small molecules including Oligonucleotide Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).

You will be responsible for the technical development, support, validation and commercialization of drug substances using an external and internal network of providers. This position is integral to the advancement of GSK's growing portfolio of drug candidates and technology programs.

The scope of the role encompasses a wide breadth of lifecycle, ranging from early stage development, late stage development, process validation to commercial manufacturing. You will be expected to manage these activities using an outsourcing model and to work within a cross-functional team environment of external service providers and internal team members to help define project scope and plan, and ensure successful delivery with regards to process development, technical troubleshooting, quality, compliance, milestone timelines and project budget.

As the successful candidate you will report directly to the Director, Chemical Development.

In this role you will

• Provide support of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) development programs.
• Identify opportunities and activities that can enable the scale up of drug candidates for pre-clinical and clinical studies as well as supporting validation activities when progressing to late stage.
• Collaborate and coordinate in cross-functional teams, both internally and at CROs (contract research organizations) to develop robust, scalable, cost effective and safe chemical processes.
• Have responsibility for timely deliveries of drug substance to support IND/IMPD enabling toxicology studies as well as manufacture of phase-appropriate cGMP API to support clinical studies.
• Develop and optimize safe and scalable chemical processes for the manufacturing of drug substance.
• Recommends the development of economical, state-of-the-art techniques and technologies to synthesize, purify, isolate and characterize drug substance by keeping up to date with the scientific literature, regulatory guidelines and industry advances
• Troubleshoot new and existing product or process issues related to yield, quality and throughput, utilizing structured problem-solving techniques and quality assurance mechanisms when appropriate.
• Construct and manage experiments to screen, optimize, and scale chromatographic and synthetic chemistry processes.
• Ensure the work conducted by external partners and the group is performed in accordance with GSK and external regulatory and quality standards in the markets of interest and is also conducted in accordance with GSK and local EH&S standards
• Prepare technology transfer packages to support technical transfer activities between GSK and supplier.

Why you?

Qualifications & Skills:

We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:

• PhD (or equivalent) in synthetic organic chemistry OR a BS/MS (or equivalent) and industry experience in pharmaceutical research and development in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry.
• Experience with oligonucleotide synthesis, purification and isolation and the ability to develop processes to oligonucleotide drug targets.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the maintenance of technical data and reports; proactive collaboration in a multi-disciplinary business and science team environment is essential.
• Ability to travel 15% both domestically and internationally.

Preferred Qualifications & Skills:

If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus:

• Experience in the areas of process development, process characterization, process validation and product life cycle management
• Experience working in a virtual CMC development with External Vendors, CMOs/CROs
• Strong collaboration and communication skills; ability to build and maintain good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience with design space studies using DoE or modelling tools.

Closing Date for Applications: 5th April 2023(COB)

Please take a copy of the Job Description, as this will not be available post closure of the advert.

When applying for this role, please use the 'cover letter' of the online application or your CV to describe how you meet the competencies for this role, as outlined in the job requirements above. The information that you have provided in your cover letter and CV will be used to assess your application.

During the course of your application you will be requested to complete voluntary information which will be used in monitoring the effectiveness of our equality and diversity policies. Your information will be treated as confidential and will not be used in any part of the selection process. If you require a reasonable adjustment to the application / selection process to enable you to demonstrate your ability to perform the job requirements, please contact This will help us to understand any modifications we may need to make to support you throughout our selection process.

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together

GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose - to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together - so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns - as an organisation where people can thrive. Getting ahead means preventing disease as well as treating it, and we aim to impact the health of 2.5 billion people around the world in the next 10 years.

Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it's also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a place where people feel inspired, encouraged and challenged to be the best they can be. A place where they can be themselves - feeling welcome, valued and included. Where they can keep growing and look after their wellbeing. So, if you share our ambition, join us at this exciting moment in our journey to get Ahead Together.

Find out more:

Annual Report 2021

R&D

We're combining the power of genetic and genomic insights into what causes disease, with the speed and scale of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to make better predictions about who a treatment might work for, and why. We believe this powerful combination of data and technology holds the key to fundamentally transforming medical discovery for the better, improving R&D success rates and shaping how even the most challenging diseases, like neurological conditions and cancer, can be both prevented and treated.

In 2021 we delivered four major product approvals: Cabenuva for HIV, Jemperli for endometrial cancer, Xevudy for COVID-19 and Apretude, our new long-acting medicine for HIV prevention.

Find out more:

Our approach to R&D

#CMCDevelopmentGSK

GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose - to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together - so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns - as an organisation where people can thrive. Getting ahead means preventing disease as well as treating it, and we aim to impact the health of 2.5 billion people around the world in the next 10 years.

Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it's also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a workplace where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and thrive as set out in our Equal and Inclusive Treatment of Employees policy. We're committed to being more proactive at all levels so that our workforce reflects the communities we work and hire in, and our GSK leadership reflects our GSK workforce.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are open to all talent. In the US, we also adhere to Affirmative Action principles. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to neurodiversity, race/ethnicity, colour, national origin, religion, gender, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, disability, genetic information, military service, covered/protected veteran status or any other federal, state or local protected class(US only).

We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on or Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments, we will not be able to support you through these channels

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