Process Development Senior Scientist – Drug Product Technologies

Amgen; Thousand Oaks (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement plan

Health insurance

Stock-based incentives

Flexible work model

Job summary

Amgen in Thousand Oaks seeks a Process Development Senior Scientist – Drug Product Technologies to lead formulation, stability, and process development for biologics including ADCs and oligonucleotides; role emphasizes data-driven decisions and cross-functional collaboration.

You will design studies, advance drug product candidates to clinical manufacturing, and mentor junior scientists while applying AI/ML tools and scalable strategies.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent with strong background in biologics drug product development.
• Experience with ADCs or oligonucleotide modalities is highly preferred.
• Ability to apply analytical and biophysical techniques to formulate stable drug products.

Responsibilities

• Lead formulation, stability, process development, and fill/finish studies for diverse biologics.
• Develop and characterize liquid and lyophilized formulations for ADCs and oligonucleotides.
• Mentor junior scientists and collaborate across cross-functional teams.

Skills

Biologics formulation

Stability testing

Process development

Fill/finish operations

AI/ML in R&D

Cross-functional leadership

Education

PhD in Pharmaceutics or related field

Tools

UPLC/HPLC

LC-MS

Job description

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients

At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission—to serve patients living with serious illnesses—drives all that we do.

Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas –Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease– we reach millions of patients each year. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity and obesity-related conditions. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives.

Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Process Development Senior Scientist – Drug Product Technologies

What You Will Do

Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role you will bring hands-on experience in biologics drug product formulation, process development, and/or analytical characterization, with experience in ADCs and/or oligonucleotides such as siRNAs strongly preferred. The candidate will integrate formulation, analytical, stability, and process data to guide product design and development, including modality-specific considerations such as linker-payload attributes, stability- and process-relevant degradation pathways, ADC CQAs, oligonucleotide formulation and stability considerations, and phase-appropriate analytical strategies. This individual will apply scientific judgment, emerging technologies including AI/ML, and strong cross-functional collaboration to deliver high-quality, stable, and manufacturable drug products for clinical development in a fast-paced environment.

• Work effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed environment, collaborating across process development, research, analytical, regulatory, quality, manufacturing, and external partner teams to advance programs, influence development strategies, and communicate technical recommendations to scientific peers and leadership.
• Plan, lead, and execute formulation, stability, process development, and fill/finish studies for early-stage drug product programs across diverse biologic modalities.
• Develop and characterize liquid and lyophilized formulations for complex biologics, including ADCs, oligonucleotides, monoclonal antibodies, multispecifics, and other emerging modalities.
• Build process understanding across unit operations to support scalable drug product development.
• Evaluate in-use compatibility and drug product stability under clinically relevant conditions.
• Investigate biologics- and modality-relevant CQAs, including aggregation, fragmentation, charge and size variants, subvisible particles, surface interactions, concentration-dependent behavior, and, where applicable, ADC- or oligonucleotide-specific attributes such as drug-to-antibody ratio, free payload, linker-payload integrity, and oligonucleotide purity or degradation pathways.
• Leverage high-throughput and data-driven tools for formulation screening, stability assessment, developability evaluation, and processability characterization.
• Identify and address technology gaps impacting drug product stability, manufacturability, excipient interactions, modality-specific degradation pathways, and process-related stress responses.
• Apply machine learning, AI, automation, and data science approaches to predictive modeling, workflow acceleration, data integration, and decision-making.
• Ensure development approaches are phase-appropriate, from discovery through clinical manufacturing.
• Provide scientific and technical leadership in biologics drug product development, serving as a subject matter expert for formulation, stability, process development, and modality-specific considerations for ADCs, oligonucleotides, and other complex biologics.
• Define and influence drug product development strategies across programs by identifying key risks, recommending phase-appropriate studies, and integrating formulation, analytical, process, manufacturability, and regulatory considerations into program decisions.
• Serve as a recognized scientific resource within area of expertise, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and coaching to junior scientists and cross-functional team members.
• Author and review technical documents, formulation and process development reports, control-strategy inputs, risk assessments, IND/CTA regulatory sections, and technology transfer packages.
• Support internal and external technology transfer activities, including collaboration with CMOs/CDMOs, batch record review, process fit assessments, person-in-plant support, and troubleshooting during manufacturing campaigns.

What We Expect Of You

We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. The professional we seek is a leader with these qualifications.

Basic Qualifications

• Doctorate degree
• OR
• Master’s degree and 2 years of Scientific experience
• OR
• Bachelor’s degree and 4 years of Scientific experience

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD in Pharmaceutics, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field with 3+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Proven experience in biologics drug product formulation development, stability assessment, process development, and/or fill/finish operations; direct experience with ADCs, oligonucleotides such as siRNAs, or other complex biologic modalities is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated understanding of drug product development considerations for biologics and complex modalities, including formulation stability, degradation pathways, aggregation, particulates, manufacturability, product/process comparability, and phase-appropriate control strategies.
• Experience with ADC drug product development considerations, including linker-payload stability, drug-to-antibody ratio, free drug or payload-related impurities, ADC-relevant quality attributes, and process-related stress responses, is highly desirable.
• Experience with oligonucleotide or siRNA drug product development considerations, including formulation stability, degradation pathways, excipient compatibility, analytical characterization, and clinical administration considerations, is highly desirable.
• Experience integrating formulation, stability, analytical, and process data to advance drug product candidates from discovery or preclinical development into clinical manufacturing.
• Strong foundation in analytical and biophysical techniques relevant to biologics, ADCs, and/or oligonucleotides, such as UPLC/HPLC, SEC, IEX, RP-HPLC, HIC, CE-SDS, LC-MS, subvisible particle analysis, viscosity, osmolality, and stability-indicating methods.
• Familiarity with clinical-stage development, manufacturability, technology transfer, and risk-based decision-making.
• Experience applying AI/ML, automation, LLMs, in silico tools, or data science approaches to streamline R&D workflows, improve data integration, and support decision-making.
• Skilled communicator with experience authoring technical reports and contributing to regulatory submissions, including INDs, CTAs, BLAs, or equivalent global filings.

Application deadline

Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed.

As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of diverse, ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider you without regard to your race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include:

• A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts
• A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan
• Stock-based long-term incentives
• Award-winning time-off plans
• Flexible work models where possible. Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies.