Remote Senior Formulation Scientist for Drug Development

Placements24; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement planning

Generous PTO

Remote work flexibility

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Formulation Scientist for a fully remote role within a Pharmaceutical R&D team. Lead design, development, and optimization of oral and parenteral formulations, emphasizing bioavailability and manufacturability.

The candidate should have a PhD or MSc with 7+ years in drug formulation, strong regulatory knowledge, and proven remote collaboration & project management skills.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 7+ years of drug formulation development experience in the Pharmaceutical industry.
• Proven expertise in diverse dosage forms including oral solids and parenteral formulations.
• Hands-on experience with characterization techniques (DSC, TGA, XRD, SEM, particle size).
• Strong understanding of regulatory guidelines (ICH, FDA, EMA).
• Excellent written and verbal communication for remote collaboration.
• Ability to manage multiple projects autonomously in a remote setting.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute pre-formulation studies (solubility, stability, compatibility).
• Develop and optimize formulations for tablets, capsules, injectables, and controlled-release systems.
• Characterize properties of drug substances and excipients.
• Apply advanced formulation techniques to overcome development challenges.
• Conduct stability studies per ICH and determine shelf-life/storage conditions.
• Troubleshoot formulation issues during development and scale-up.
• Collaborate with analytical development, process chemistry, and manufacturing teams.
• Prepare technical reports, development summaries, and regulatory documents.
• Stay updated on formulation science advances and technology.
• Mentor junior scientists in a remote R&D team.

Skills

Pharmaceutics

Formulation development

Oral solid dosage forms

Parenteral formulations

Regulatory knowledge

Remote collaboration

Education

Ph.D. or Master’s in related field

Tools

DSC

TGA

XRD

SEM

Particle size analysis

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Formulation Scientist for a fully remote role within a Pharmaceutical R&D team. Lead design, development, and optimization of oral and parenteral formulations, emphasizing bioavailability and manufacturability.

The candidate should have a PhD or MSc with 7+ years in drug formulation, strong regulatory knowledge, and proven remote collaboration & project management skills.