Scientific Content Specialist, Customer Education

Certara USA, Inc.; Wayne (PA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Certara USA, Inc. is seeking a Scientific Content Specialist, Customer Education to develop and govern scientifically accurate training curricula and software documentation for Certara platforms, including Phoenix.

The role interprets modeling, simulation, and PK/PD concepts and communicates them to audiences with varied backgrounds. Collaboration with SMEs and cross-functional teams is essential for content strategy and adoption.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, biology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, or a closely related scientific discipline involving specialized intellectual instruction.
• Relevant professional experience applying advanced scientific knowledge to scientific writing, software documentation, modeling and simulation, pharmacometrics, PK/PD, or related work.
• Demonstrated ability to independently analyze and explain complex scientific concepts, evaluate technical accuracy, reconcile information, and form well-supported conclusions.
• Experience owning substantive scientific or technical content deliverables through planning, development, review, revision, and release.
• Ability to design structured, audience-appropriate learning or documentation experiences based on subject matter and user needs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Responsibilities

• Own the scientific and instructional quality of assigned customer education curricula, technical learning assets, software documentation, online help, knowledge articles, and related content.
• Independently interpret complex modeling and simulation workflows, PK/PD principles, pharmacometric methods, software outputs, and scientific use cases; synthesize findings into accurate, practical content.
• Evaluate scientific evidence, product behavior, user workflows, and audience needs to identify learning objectives and content gaps.
• Determine content architecture, sequence, instructional methodology, and delivery format for learning programs and documentation.
• Resolve unclear or conflicting technical information by research, interviewing SMEs, and documenting defensible conclusions.
• Lead content initiatives from scoping to publication; manage priorities and adjust approaches as information evolves.
• Collaborate with SMEs and stakeholders to obtain input and validate conclusions; retain ownership of deliverables.

Skills

Scientific writing

Content development

Project leadership

English communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in pharmacology/biological sciences

Tools

Phoenix WinNonlin

Phoenix NLME

MadCap Flare

Adobe FrameMaker

Confluence

Job description

Overview

Certara accelerates the potential of bringing medicines to market and to patients using biosimulation software, technology, and services to transform traditional drug discovery and development. Our clients include more than 2,400 biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and regulatory agencies across 70 countries.

Our goal is to enable the life sciences industry's use of data, modeling, and analytics to make better decisions across the various phases of discovery and drug development. Our software and scientists incorporate modern advances in scientific understanding, drug development experience, data analysis, and AI resulting in significant opportunities to decrease the cost and increase the probability of success for new drug approval and commercialization.

The Scientific Content Specialist, Customer Education applies advanced scientific knowledge to independently develop and govern scientifically accurate training curricula, product documentation, and educational content for Certara software platforms, including Phoenix. The role interprets complex modeling, simulation, pharmacometrics, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) concepts and determines how to communicate them clearly to audiences with varied scientific and technical backgrounds.

This position performs predominantly intellectual and varied work requiring consistent discretion and independent professional judgment. It owns assigned deliverables from needs assessment and content strategy through scientific validation, release, and evaluation. The Specialist collaborates with scientific, product, software documentation, and customer-facing subject matter experts (SMEs), while independently evaluating source information, resolving ambiguous technical issues, selecting content structure and instructional approaches, and making recommendations that materially influence customer education standards and effective product adoption. Senior stakeholder review provides strategic alignment and scientific governance rather than close supervision.

The role's primary function is the performance of scientific, analytical, and discretionary responsibilities. The employee is expected to spend the substantial majority of working time on these responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Own the scientific and instructional quality of assigned customer education curricula, technical learning assets, software documentation, online help, knowledge articles, and related content throughout the content lifecycle.
• Independently interpret complex modeling and simulation workflows, PK/PD principles, pharmacometric methods, software outputs, and scientific use cases; synthesize findings into accurate, practical, audience-appropriate content.
• Evaluate scientific evidence, product behavior, user workflows, and audience needs to identify learning objectives, content gaps, risks of misunderstanding, and appropriate depth of treatment.
• Determine content architecture, sequence, instructional methodology, examples, assessments, and delivery format for assigned learning programs and documentation based on scientific complexity and customer needs.
• Resolve unclear, incomplete, or conflicting technical information by conducting research, analyzing available evidence, interviewing SMEs, testing assumptions against authoritative sources, and documenting defensible conclusions.
• Exercise independent judgment in distinguishing scientifically material issues from editorial matters, determining when additional validation is required, and recommending revisions or escalation where accuracy or customer outcomes may be affected.
• Lead assigned content initiatives from scoping through publication, establishing work plans, priorities, review pathways, and quality criteria; manage competing deliverables and adjust approaches as scientific or product information evolves.
• Collaborate with SMEs and cross-functional stakeholders to obtain specialized input and validate conclusions. Retain ownership of assigned deliverables and make independent professional judgments concerning content design, scientific interpretation, and readiness for stakeholder review.
• Establish and recommend scientific content standards, terminology, templates, instructional practices, and quality controls that improve consistency, scalability, customer comprehension, and appropriate use of Certara products.
• Review existing and proposed materials for scientific accuracy, instructional effectiveness, regulatory or reputational sensitivity, and alignment with product capabilities; recommend corrective action when content may be misleading, incomplete, or unsuitable for the intended audience.
• Develop and deliver live, virtual, or on-demand scientific software education when appropriate, adapting explanations and instructional methods in response to participant knowledge, questions, and application needs.
• Assess content effectiveness using learner feedback, usage information, product developments, and stakeholder input; independently recommend substantive improvements that strengthen customer competency and product adoption.
• Evaluate emerging authoring, AI, and automation tools for responsible use in scientific content workflows, applying professional judgment to accuracy, validation, confidentiality, and quality risks. This responsibility does not include computer programming as a primary duty.
• Perform occasional publication or coordination activities directly associated with owned deliverables. Routine scheduling, registration processing, and logistical administration are not primary responsibilities of this role.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, biology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, or a closely related scientific discipline involving specialized intellectual instruction.
• Relevant professional experience applying advanced scientific knowledge to one or more of the following: scientific or technical writing, scientific training, software documentation, modeling and simulation, pharmacometrics, PK/PD, or closely related work. General writing experience without the required scientific foundation is insufficient.
• Demonstrated ability to independently analyze and explain complex scientific concepts, evaluate technical accuracy, reconcile ambiguous or conflicting information, and form well-supported professional conclusions.
• Experience owning substantive scientific or technical content deliverables through planning, development, expert review, revision, and release.
• Ability to design structured, audience-appropriate learning or documentation experiences and select instructional approaches based on scientific subject matter and user needs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to engage SMEs, present scientific reasoning, and communicate decisions to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong judgment, organization, and project leadership skills, with the ability to prioritize varied assignments, estimate effort, manage dependencies, and meet commitments with general strategic direction.
• Proficiency with contemporary content-development tools and the ability to learn scientific software sufficiently to evaluate workflows, outputs, and educational implications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or doctorate in a relevant scientific discipline.
• Applied knowledge of PK/PD, pharmacometrics, or modeling and simulation.
• Experience with Phoenix WinNonlin, Phoenix NLME, or comparable scientific software.
• Familiarity with authoring and publishing platforms such as Adobe FrameMaker, MadCap Flare, Confluence, HTML, PDF, or a Learning Management System.
• Experience developing or delivering customer education in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, or scientific software industry.

Certara bases all employment-related decision on merit, taking into consideration qualifications, skills, achievement, and performance. We treat all applicants and employees without regard to personal characteristics such as race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, nationality, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental condition, genetic information, military service, or other characteristic protected by law.