Research Associate I/II, Formulation & Process Development

Socket.dev; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Annual incentive program

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge, MA, seeks a Research Associate to support formulation and product development, focusing on dried powder formulations. You will execute lyophilization and spray drying, contributing rigorous experimental design, data interpretation, and robust process documentation in a fast-moving, early-stage environment.

This role collaborates with process development partners to produce robust, scalable processes and to share results, roadblocks, and breakthroughs with the

Qualifications

• BS or MS in chemistry, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, materials science, biotechnology, or related discipline.
• RA I: BS with up to 2 years of relevant industry experience
• RA II: BS with 2–4 years or MS with 0–2 years of relevant industry experience
• Grounding in physical chemistry or materials science relevant to dried systems, incl. glass transition, crystallinity, moisture interactions
• Familiarity with analytical/characterization techniques for powders/solids (DSC, TGA, particle sizing, microscopy) preferred
• Experience designing and executing experiments and interpreting results to guide iteration
• Strong scientific documentation and communication skills
• Interest in translating early concepts into scalable technologies

Responsibilities

• Design and execute mixing protocols for solid and liquid mixtures.
• Produce dried formulations via spray drying, freeze drying, and milling; perform in-process checks.
• Characterize dried powder products to inform decisions.
• Document parameters, variability sources, and data for scale-up or tech transfer.
• Maintain clear experimental documentation and high-quality data summaries.
• Help establish long-term formulation workflows and standards.

Skills

Analytical chemistry

Experimental design

Data interpretation

Scientific documentation

Education

BS or MS in chemistry/chemical engineering/biotech

Tools

DSC

TGA

Particle sizing

Microscopy

Job description

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Flagship Pioneering is a platform innovation company that invents and builds companies that change the world. We bring together the greatest scientific minds with entrepreneurial company builders and assemble the capital to allow them to take courageous leaps. Those big leaps in human health, sustainability and beyond exponentially accelerate scientific progress in areas ranging from disease detection and treatment and nature-positive agriculture to novel applications of AI that are driving the creation of new technologies.

What sets Flagship apart is our ability to advance science and technology by uniting innovation, company creation, and capital investment under one roof in a way that is largely without precedent. Our scientific founders, entrepreneurial leaders, and professional capital managers are each aligned around an institutionalized process that enables us to innovate and transform for the benefit of people and planet.

Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.

THE ROLE

This role will be a foundational hire supporting our formulation and product development efforts, with a primary focus on the development, screening, and optimization of dried powder formulations. The individual will play a critical hands‑on role in executing formulation strategies using techniques such as lyophilization and spray drying, while contributing experimental rigor, physical insight, and data‑driven decision‑making to early‑stage platform development.

The Research Associate will work closely with process development partners to produce robust, stable, and scalable processes. In addition to executing experiments, this role will contribute to experimental design, data interpretation, and the establishment of best practices for formulation screening, characterization, and documentation in a fast‑moving, early‑stage environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and execute mixing protocols for solid and liquid mixtures, optimizing for uniformity, stability, viscosity, temperature and pH during the mixing process;
• Execute protocols for production of dried formulations by spray drying, freeze drying and milling operations. Observe and conduct in process checks to ensure robustness of formulated material.
• Characterize dried powder products using appropriate analytical and physical methods (e.g., particle size and morphology, thermal analysis, moisture content, bulk properties) to inform formulation and process decisions;
• Support process development and scale‑awareness by documenting critical parameters, identifying sources of variability, and generating data relevant to future scale‑up, tech transfer, or external partnerships;
• Maintain clear, rigorous experimental documentation and generate high‑quality summaries, figures, and datasets suitable for internal decision‑making;
• Contribute to the establishment of long‑term formulation workflows, best practices, and standards that support platform development in a small, highly collaborative team.
• Designs, conducts and maintains stability studies of packaged formulations by timely stability pulls and analyses of stability samples in accordance with internal standards for shelf‑life verification.
• Immediate and fluid communication of results, roadblocks, errors, ideas and breakthroughs to team members to ensure fast paced innovation.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• BS or MS degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, materials science, biotechnology, or related discipline.
• RA I: BS with up to 2 years of relevant industry experience
• RA II: BS with 2‑4 years or MS with 0–2 years of relevant industry experience
• Grounding in physical chemistry or materials science principles relevant to dried systems, including glass transition behavior, crystallinity, moisture interactions, and excipient effects strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with analytical and characterization techniques for powders and solid‑state materials (e.g., DSC, TGA, particle sizing, microscopy, bulk property measurements) is preferred.
• Proven ability to work independently in a dynamic, early‑stage research environment is preferred.
• Experience designing and executing sound experiments with the ability to interpret results and use data to guide experimental iteration.
• Strong scientific documentation and communication skills.
• Demonstrated curiosity, adaptability, and comfort working across disciplines, with an interest in translating early scientific concepts into robust, scalable technologies.

LOCATION:

Cambridge, MA

ABOUT FLAGSHIP PIONEERING:

Flagship Pioneering invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health, sustainability and beyond. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated more than 100 companies. Many of these companies have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

At Flagship, we accept impossible missions to enable bigger leaps. Our core values guide us through uncertainty and toward lasting impact.

We are an equal opportunity employer

All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We recognize that great candidates often bring unique strengths without fulfilling every qualification. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your background and interest in Flagship.

The salary range for this role is $65,000 - $93,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. FL112 currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on FL112's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.