Crystallisation Scientist

Cambrex Corp.; West Windsor (NJ); On-site; USD 56,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Cambrex Edinburgh is seeking a Crystallisation Scientist to lead development projects for pharmaceutical APIs. You will progress crystallisation from gram-scale trials to multi-gram and kilogram scales, working closely with clients and transferring technology to manufacturing.

The role requires strong communication, lab discipline, and a solid understanding of crystallisation pathways, with experience in CLRs, PAT, and solid-state analyses.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in chemistry or related field.
• Laboratory experience and wet chemistry techniques.
• Experience with solid-state analytics (XRPD, DSC, TG/DSC, etc.).
• Ability to communicate complex data clearly and succinctly.
• Safety-focused with SHE compliance in lab environments.
• R&D experience in pharma/crystallization settings.
• Knowledge of API crystallization concepts: polymorphs, salts, co-crystals.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and perform crystallization process development for APIs.
• Characterise samples provided by clients and manage multiple projects.
• Demonstrate crystallization knowledge from gram- to kilogram-scale and support tech transfer.
• Apply crystallization methods (cooling, anti-solvent) and optimise outcomes.
• Utilise PAT tools (e.g., Blaze, FBRM, Raman) to understand and optimise systems.

Skills

Communication skills

Willingness to learn

Problem solving

Organizational planning

Commercial awareness

API development knowledge

Education

BSc/MSc in chemistry or related field

Tools

CLR equipment

FBRM

Raman spectroscopy

XRPD

DSC/TG-DSC

Job description

Cambrex

Crystallisation Scientist

UK--Edinburgh

Job ID: 2026-5061

Type: Regular Full-Time

# of Openings: 1

Category: Technical / Crystallization

Cambrex - Edinburgh

Overview

As a crystallization scientist based in Edinburgh, you will, together with our clients across the pharmaceutical industry, participate in crystallization process development projects involving active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). These projects will be progressed from initial gram-scale trials, to multi-gram and kilogram scale, where the process will be technology transferred to full scale manufacturing. You will form an important part of our technical team and will work at the cutting-edge in a fast-paced and rewarding environment. You will demonstrate the highest technical standards, while maintaining compliance to quality and safety systems.

Responsibilities

• The Crystallisation Scientist is responsible for the organisation and performance of all crystallisation process development projects including characterisation of samples generated and provided by clients. The crystallisation scientist is expected to deal with a demanding and unrelenting workload whilst maintaining a high standard of work. As such, they must be well organised and capable of prioritising and responding to a number of deliverables from a range of clients.
• The Crystallisation Scientist is expected to be competent in the underlying science of process and scale-up crystallisation, having experience of crystallisation pathways such as cooling crystallisation, anti-solvent crystallisation etc. at gram and ideally kg scale.
• The Crystallisation Scientist is expected to be experienced in using controlled lab reactors (CLRs) in conjunction with heater/chiller units and overhead stirrers to manipulate crystallisation systems to optimise: purities, yields, particle size distributions or any other client specific objectives.
• A working knowledge of current PAT technology is required, such as Blaze metric, FBRM, Raman and others. This is essential to understand and characterise the crystallisation system and MSZW (metastable zone width) for further optimisation and eventually technology transfer.
• The Crystallisation Scientist is expected to be competent in a wide variety of analyses using an extensive range of different techniques including specialist areas such as - DVS; XRPD; TG/DTA; DSC and more general areas including spectroscopic and wet chemistry methods.

Qualifications / Skills

• An enthusiastic team player with excellent communication skills (essential).
• Ability and willingness to learn new skills and techniques (essential).
• Application of knowledge to solve complex problems (essential).
• Demonstrate high levels of motivation and the organizational planning tools to manage workload across multiple projects (essential).
• Be commercially aware of business development needs (desirable).
• Knowledgeable of the pharmaceutical development continuum of APIs (desirable).

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) / Masters in chemistry, chemical engineering, or related degree (essential).
• Practical experience in a laboratory setting and with wet chemistry techniques (essential).
• Experience/knowledge solid-state analytical techniques (e.g., XRPD, DSC, TG/DSC microscopy, DVS, single crystal X-ray diffraction) and more general spectroscopic (e.g., NMR, FT-IR, Raman) (desirable).
• Ability to discuss complex technical data clearly and succinctly (essential).
• Ability to work safely in a lab environment, adhering to local SHE policies (essential).
• Experience in working independently and within a team in an R&D environment (desirable).
• Knowledge/ experience in one or more of the following: polymorph, salt, co-crystal, and/or crystallization screening for APIs; crystallization process development; and/or working within ISO9001 quality standards (desirable).

Equal employment opportunity, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

PI287473000