Biologics Upstream Process Scientist & Scale-Up Expert

Blackfield Associates; Greater London; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Blackfield Associates supports a leading pharmaceutical company in London to recruit an Associate Scientist / Research Scientist for a 12-month contract in Drug Substance Process Sciences. The role focuses on upstream biologics development and scale-up, with emphasis on mammalian cell culture and process characterisation.

You will work in a multidisciplinary team, gaining exposure to advanced cell culture technologies and bioreactors from micro-scale to pilot scale, contributing to DoE studies

Qualifications

• MSc in Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Bioprocess Engineering or related field, or BSc with relevant industry experience.
• Experience in mammalian cell culture and biologics process development.
• Hands-on experience with CHO cell culture and therapeutic protein production.
• Experience operating Ambr® systems and/or lab-scale bioreactors.
• Knowledge of cell culture scale-up principles and process characterisation.
• Experience applying DoE and statistical data analysis tools.
• Strong scientific problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
• Experience with automation, digital tools and data management systems would be advantageous.
• Understanding of GMP/GSP, data integrity and quality requirements.
• Strong planning, organisational, communication and technical writing skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, plan and execute upstream process development studies using QbD and DoE to support optimisation and characterisation.
• Perform mammalian cell culture experiments using shake flasks, Ambr® systems and laboratory-scale bioreactors, supporting scale-up and technology transfer.
• Analyze and interpret data, prepare technical reports, protocols and project summaries, and communicate findings to teams.
• Collaborate with Cell Line Development, Analytical Sciences, Downstream Development, Manufacturing and external partners.
• Contribute to continuous improvement and laboratory best practices, and evaluate emerging technologies.

Skills

Mammalian cell culture

Biologics process development

CHO culture

Ambr systems

DoE & statistics

GMP awareness

Data management

Technical writing

Education

MSc in Biotechnology or related (or BSc with experience)

Tools

Ambr® systems

Laboratory-scale bioreactors

Job description

Blackfield Associates supports a leading pharmaceutical company in London to recruit an Associate Scientist / Research Scientist for a 12-month contract in Drug Substance Process Sciences. The role focuses on upstream biologics development and scale-up, with emphasis on mammalian cell culture and process characterisation.

You will work in a multidisciplinary team, gaining exposure to advanced cell culture technologies and bioreactors from micro-scale to pilot scale, contributing to DoE studies