Senior Scientist - Chemical Engineer, Chemical Development

Senior Scientist – Chemical Engineer, Chemical Development

Location: Macclesfield, UK

Competitive salary and benefits

Opening date: 22/04/2026

Closing date: midnight 05/05/2026

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company where we focus on the discovery, development and delivery of life-saving medicines to our patients in addition to our belief in sustainability and determination to minimise the impact of our work on the environment. We are proud to be a great place to work and have a culture that inspires innovation and collaboration. We empower our colleagues to express diverse perspectives and at the same time feel valued, respected and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.

Chemical Development

In Chemical Development, we believe that nothing is impossible, and we are compelled to push the boundaries of science to deliver medicines to our patients. We combine people’s technical knowledge and understanding, with their talent and drive to design, develop and optimise synthetic routes that deliver the active pharmaceutical ingredients of our medicines, in a sustainable, commercially viable way. We believe in innovation and continuous improvement, working closely with colleagues in academia and across industry, to ensure that we apply the newest technologies and principles in the processes we develop.

In our chemical engineering teams, we currently have an open position for a Senior Scientist – Chemical Engineer. The responsibilities and requirements of the position are outlined below.

As a Senior Scientist – Chemical Engineer you will work closely with fellow chemical engineers, chemists, analysts and crystallisation scientists to develop, optimise and scale-up chemical processes to deliver robust and sustainable drug substance manufacture including small molecules, oligonucleotides, synthetic peptides and drug linkers for antibody-drug conjugates.

Accountabilities:

Lead the engineering input into the development and optimisation of new chemical processes, using both laboratory experimentation and in-silico modelling to build deep process understanding.

Assess scale-up and manufacturability to secure right-first-time manufacture, smooth technical transfer and long-term viability of processes across internal and external facilities.

Perform environmental, materials and process safety assessments in support of the accommodation of chemical processes in our internal manufacturing facility to deliver drug substance for clinical trials.

Partner with Contract Manufacturing Organisations worldwide, providing engineering input into the scale up and accommodation of processes into external manufacturing facilities.

Champion and drive sustainability of drug substance processes by improving environmental footprint, efficiency and patient access.

Contribute to the overall development of drug substance control strategies, ensuring processes are fully understood and will robustly deliver the same drug substance quality.

Drive improvement projects and evaluate, select and implement new manufacturing technologies that enhance capability and performance.

Mentor and supervise junior colleagues and students, sharing knowledge and encouraging fresh thinking.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• A degree and / or PhD in Chemical Engineering.
• Experience in pharmaceutical/fine chemical/food manufacturing including batch and/or continuous operation.
• A well-developed understanding of unit operations such as mixing, distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, solid phase synthesis, chromatography, tangential flow filtration, isolation and drying, and their dependency on scale and equipment.
• Ability to use modelling software (e.g. Aspen, DynoChem, gPROMS, Computational Fluid Dynamics) to support process understanding.
• Good collaborative skills to enable effective working with different skillsets (e.g. with chemists, analysts and physical properties experts).
• Good understanding of the requirements, principles and application of process safety and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
• Strong communication and influencing skills

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Significant experience in a chemical/process engineering role in industry or equivalent.
• Experience of chemical process development scale up and / or technical transfer.
• Experience in evaluation and implementation of new manufacturing technologies.
• Experience in leading technical projects or acting as a lead process engineer on a project.
• Awareness of AI tools, i.e. application of algorithms, and applicability to Chemical Engineering process development and scale up.
• Experience collaborating with external partners

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

There are so many fantastic employee benefits that AstraZeneca can offer you: a competitive salary, private healthcare, a generous holiday allowance, phenomenal training and development opportunities, and much more.

At AstraZeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration. Always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development.

Interested? Come and join our journey!

Date Posted

22-Apr-2026

Closing Date

04-May-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.