Lead Chemical Process R&D Scientist: Scale-Up & CDMO

Elan Personal AG; Basel; On-site; CHF 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Roche Basel seeks a Lead Chemical Process R&D Scientist to drive late-stage process development and scalable synthesis for drug substances. You will manage internal chemists and external CDMOs, aligning timelines to produce APIs safely and cost-effectively.

The role requires a PhD or postdoc in synthetic organic chemistry and 5+ years in pharmaceutical process R&D, with strong leadership and project management capabilities. English fluency is essential, and GMP exposure is a plus.

Qualifications

• PhD or postdoc in synthetic organic chemistry.
• 5+ years pharma chemical process R&D, late-stage development & scale-up.
• Leadership and project management within process chemistry teams.
• CDMO management: external development and tech transfers.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal & external Chemical Process R&D activities with a team or CDMO partners.
• Oversee end-to-end process chemistry workflows including route scouting and scale-up.
• Coordinate cross-functional delivery with CDMOs for APIs and intermediates.
• Ensure quality and compliance with safety and sustainability objectives.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Team Mentoring

Cross-functional Coordination

Education

PhD or Postdoctoral in Synthetic Organic Chemistry

Tools

Chemical drawing tools

DoE software/tools

Analytical software

Literature search engines

Scale-up simulation software

Kinetic modeling software

Project planning platforms

Job description

Roche Basel seeks a Lead Chemical Process R&D Scientist to drive late-stage process development and scalable synthesis for drug substances. You will manage internal chemists and external CDMOs, aligning timelines to produce APIs safely and cost-effectively.

The role requires a PhD or postdoc in synthetic organic chemistry and 5+ years in pharmaceutical process R&D, with strong leadership and project management capabilities. English fluency is essential, and GMP exposure is a plus.