Director, Formulations

Scorpion Therapeutics; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Scorpion Therapeutics seeks a senior formulation scientist to lead formulation and process development for oral dosage forms across early- to late-stage candidates. You will align activities with development timelines and oversee CMO programs.

The role emphasizes technical leadership, cross-functional collaboration with CMC, QA, and Regulatory teams, and strategy development to enable robust, scalable processes and regulatory submissions.

Qualifications

• Ph.D./M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences or related field.
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Responsibilities

• Lead formulation and process development activities for clinical candidates.
• Lead strategic planning for formulation development, identifying risks and mitigation strategies.
• Oversee formulation and process development activities and provide technical oversight of clinical drug product manufacturing at CMOs.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and development support.
• Support employee performance management when in a people leadership role.
• Strengthen team capabilities through best practices in experimental design, data interpretation, and decision-making.
• Apply formulation principles to solve complex product development challenges for robust, scalable processes.
• Identify and implement innovative formulation technologies.
• Provide subject matter expertise for global CMC regulatory strategies and cross-functional plans.
• Author/review development and manufacturing sections for regulatory submissions.
• Design, execute, and analyze lab studies; prepare protocols/reports.
• Contribute to external scientific visibility via publications and conferences.
• Partner with Legal/IP to support patent strategy.
• Build and maintain cross-functional collaborations.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Formulation development

Process development

Regulatory interaction

Data interpretation

Education

PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences

MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences / Chemistry

Tools

HPLC

UV spectroscopy

Dissolution testing

Solid-state characterization

Job description

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead formulation and process development activities for early- and late-stage clinical candidates, aligned with development timelines.
• Lead strategic planning for formulation development, identifying risks and mitigation strategies to enable progression to clinical/commercial stages.
• Oversee formulation and process development activities and provide technical oversight of clinical drug product manufacturing at CMOs (documentation, planning, scheduling, execution, and person-in-plant support when required).
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and development support (as applicable).
• Support employee performance management (goal setting, development planning, feedback) when serving in a people leadership capacity.
• Strengthen team capabilities through methodologies and best practices for experimental design, data interpretation, and decision-making.
• Apply formulation principles to solve complex product development challenges and enable robust, scalable processes.
• Identify, evaluate, and implement innovative formulation technologies.
• Provide subject matter expertise for global CMC regulatory strategies and cross-functional plans.
• Author/review pharmaceutical development and manufacturing sections for regulatory submissions.
• Design, execute, and analyze lab studies; prepare technical protocols/reports.
• Contribute to external scientific visibility via publications, presentations, and conferences.
• Partner with Legal/IP to support patent strategy.
• Build and maintain cross-functional collaborations (Chemical Development, Analytical Development, Quality, Regulatory, DMPK, etc.).

Qualifications

• Ph.D./M.S. (or equivalent) in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field.
• 10+ years industry experience in formulation/process development for oral dosage forms; cGMP experience required.
• People leadership experience preferred.
• Expertise in enabling formulations to improve solubility/bioavailability of poorly soluble compounds.
• Hands-on formulation development and experience optimizing large-scale drug manufacturing.
• Strong CMC/Technical Operations, Quality, and Regulatory cross-functional collaboration.
• Working knowledge: HPLC, UV spectroscopy, dissolution testing, solid-state characterization.
• Proficiency authoring CMC/regulatory submission sections.
• Strong communication with senior leadership; leadership/coaching and interpersonal skills.