Associate Principal Scientist –Analytical, Inhalation products

AstraZeneca; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 138,000 - 208,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term incentive bonuses

Equity-based awards

Paid time off (vacation/holidays)

Retirement programs

Job summary

AstraZeneca in Durham, US, is seeking an Associate Principal Scientist to provide expert analytical support for inhalation drug products across internal and contract sites. You will tackle method, manufacturing, and formulation issues, aid in supply strategy projects, and contribute to business continuity planning throughout the product lifecycle.

The role requires a BS in a relevant science with 5+ years of pharmaceutical development experience, including analytical, formulation, and process

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in an appropriate subject area (e.g. Chemistry, Pharmacy, Analytical and Pharmaceutical Sciences) with proven experience relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.
• 5+ years of experience in multiple pharmaceutical development subject areas, such as analytical, formulation, process engineering, stability, modelling and validation.
• Understanding of the overall drug development and commercialisation process from development, launch and lifecycle management.
• Experience in Operations and/or R&D with a track record of successful project leadership and delivery within a matrix organization.
• Detailed understanding of principles, applications and management of SHE and cGMP.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert technical analytical support to inhalation products manufactured internally at AZ sites and CMOs.
• Resolve method/manufacturing/formulation issues and complaints impacting supply or manufacturability.
• Support product supply strategy projects and business continuity plans through lifecycle activities.
• Represent the QC units during New Product Introduction, working with development teams and sites.
• Collaborate on regulatory dossiers and analytical methods lifecycle management.

Skills

Analytical sciences

Project leadership

Regulatory compliance

cGMP knowledge

Inhalation products

Education

BS in Chemistry/Pharma

MS/PhD desirable

Job description

Join us at AstraZeneca, where we put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide. We have an exciting opportunity to join our Technical Operations Science & Innovation (TOSI) team which is part of the Pharmaceutical Technology & Development (PT&D) organisation. This is your chance to make a meaningful impact on people's lives with life-changing medicines. This is an Associate Principal Scientist role.

The Pharmaceutical Technology & Development (PT&D) organisation, part of Operations, is responsible for drug product design, development and technical support for drug substance and products throughout the life cycle.

This role will have a significant impact on the overall success of Operations as well as ensuring the commercial viability of current products. The activities of the group help to ensure availability of all AstraZeneca products to the commercial organisation. The role therefore has a substantial impact on both financial and reputational aspects of the business.

This role is based at AstraZeneca’s Durham, US site.

What you’ll do

In this role, you will provide expert technical analytical support to commercial Inhalation Products manufactured internally at AZ sites and externally at contract facilities. You will be responsible for the provision of technical expertise to aid in the resolution of method/manufacturing/formulation issues and complaints impacting supply or manufacturability. You will also be delivering technical expertise to support product supply strategy projects and business continuity plans through delivery of the drug product control, manufacturability strategy and product quality risk management activities throughout the lifecycle. There will also be opportunities to represent the QC units during the New Product Introduction phase, working with the development team and manufacturing sites.

Other responsibilities:

• Support AZ manufacturing and QC testing sites, CMOs, and import labs to ensure performance, robustness and compliance of AZ commercial drug products and related analytical methods. This will involve practical problem-solving activities in support of issue investigations (OOS/OOT) and analytical methods lifecycle management.
• Support major changes, business continuity plans and market access projects in collaboration with multiple functions (e.g., Global external sourcing, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Regulatory Affairs, and Manufacturing). This will involve analytical technology transfers of commercial products to multiple locations as well as support to local registrations and regulatory variations, including preparation of analytical parts of regulatory dossiers.
• Assist in defining technical standards impacting commercial products specific to regulatory expectations and analytical standards (including pharmacopeial standards)
• Executing Technical leadership and influencing in Pharmaceutical Teams and within TOSI
• Analytical methods improvements and analytical innovation projects for commercial products, in collaboration with other technical teams and Expert Working Groups. This includes performance improvements, sustainability improvements, lead time reduction, enhanced control strategy, automation etc. in alignment with Ops 2030 and PT&D 2030 targets.

Essential requirements

• Bachelor of Science in an appropriate subject area (e.g. Chemistry, Pharmacy, Analytical and Pharmaceutical Sciences) with proven experience relevant to the pharmaceutical industry, ideally on inhalation medicines. MS or PhD desirable.
• 5+ years of experience in multiple pharmaceutical development subject areas, such as, analytical, formulation, process engineering, stability, modelling and validation
• An understanding of the overall drug development and commercialisation process from development, launch and life cycle management
• Experience in Operations and/or R&D with a track record of successful project leadership and delivery within a matrix organization
• Detailed understanding of principles, applications and management of SHE and cGMP

We welcome your application no later than October 15th, 2026.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $138,392.80 - $207,589.20. Our positions offer eligibility for various incentives—an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles. Benefits offered include qualified retirement programs, paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves), as well as health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.

Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.