Formulation Scientist
What this job does:
Develops and optimizes the physical formulation of drugs, biologics, or consumer products. Designs experiments to evaluate stability, compatibility, and performance; characterizes formulations using analytical tools; and translates bench-scale work toward manufacturing and regulatory submission.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Designing iterative optimization experiments with multiple variables; troubleshooting unexpected results in complex systems; characterizing samples using analytical instruments; writing detailed experimental protocols and SOPs; documenting results for regulatory or technical review.
Typical starting salary range
$90k to $140k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Formulation design and optimization experiments (35%)
- Analytical characterization of formulation properties (25%)
- Stability and compatibility testing (20%)
- Documentation and technical report writing (10%)
- Cross-functional collaboration with analytical, manufacturing, and regulatory (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Formulation development for small molecules, biologics, or consumer products; design of experiments and multivariate optimization; analytical characterization (HPLC, DLS, rheology, DSC); stability and compatibility testing; GMP awareness and documentation; SOP and technical report writing; cross-functional collaboration with analytical, manufacturing, and regulatory teams
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about your experience designing optimization experiments with multiple variables - Design-of-Experiments thinking is central to formulation work. Highlight your hands-on instrument experience, your ability to troubleshoot variability, and your habit of writing protocols others can follow. Any experience with stability testing or working toward manufacturing scale is especially relevant.
Alternative job titles to search:
Formulation Scientist; Formulation Development Scientist; Drug Product Scientist; Formulation Chemist; Product Development Scientist; Pharmaceutical Scientist; Formulation Research Scientist; Drug Formulation Scientist; Biologic Formulation Scientist; Delivery Systems Scientist
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
