Senior Principal Scientist, DPD Data Analyst

Why Patients Need You  

Pfizer’s purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Research and Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer’s purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies and vaccines that matter most. Whether you are in the discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy or supporting clinical trials, you will apply cutting edge design and process development capabilities to accelerate and bring the best-in-class medicines to patients around the world.  

What You Will Achieve  

When you join Pfizer, you'll be joining a company and team with a desire to bring new, cutting-edge medicines to patients around the world. As a member of our team, you'll use science and technology to design, characterize and develop the solid form of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) with optimal particle properties as well as drug product formulations from discovery to commercial launch.   You will be able to leverage your existing scientific knowledge, as well as develop in new areas, to evaluate the chemical & physical stability, bio-performance and manufacturability of the drug product across a diverse range of therapeutic areas. 
 

The Drug Product Design Data Analyst secondment position is a non-laboratory role that focuses on ensuring the connectivity of powder characterization data to key performance attributes to ensure the delivery of robust dosage forms. This will be achieved through the following four core components: 1. Collaborate with PSSM colleagues to investigate and understand the particle and surface properties of Pfizer’s active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), drug product blends, and formulations using state-of-the-art instrumentation. 2. Define an optimal solution for connecting characterization data to key performance attributes, ensuring data is curated to support the development of future particle informatics platforms. 3. Enhance current digital tools to improve data analysis and visualization activities. 4. Support the communication and rollout of new workflows and tools.

Through your expertise and extensive knowledge, you will be able to foster a culture that promotes innovation and thrives on doing better for patients and healthcare. 

How You Will Achieve It  

• Collaborate with colleagues across PSSM to define the design and delivery of contemporary Target Attribute Profiles for each dosage form in development with a focus on delivering a robust drug product design space by establishing provable acceptable ranges to underwrite stability, manufacturability and bioperformance.

• Collaborate with DPD colleagues to influence formulation design and drug product process development through integration of physical and surface characterization data for API and DPI powders of pharmaceutical relevance.

• Support the generation and storage of high-quality data using a range of analytical techniques, including laser diffraction (Sympatec and Malvern), dynamic and static image analysis (QICPIC, Morphologi G3, PLM), specific surface area (BET), PXRD, DSC and TGA for the evaluation of solid form and physical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients and drug product blends and final formulations.

• Apply data visualization tools and state-of-the-art computational approaches to monitor/predict the properties and performance of powder samples.

• Collaborates with the MatSci team to oversee the work of external partners conducting laboratory studies and provide guidance and critical analysis of raw data.

• Technical support and mentorship of project scientists within the global characterization team as well as for colleagues in other lines.

• As a Digital Steering Team member, support the advancement of PSSM/DPD’s informatic vision.

Qualifications  

Must-Have  

• Doctoral Degree (PhD/PharmD) in chemistry, engineering, materials science, or pharmaceutics (or related field) with proven relevant pharmaceutical experience; or a B.S. or M.S. in related field with significant pharmaceutical experience

• Extensive experience in powder characterization (such as polarized light microscopy, electron microscopy, image analysis, laser diffraction methods, etc.) and surface property testing (e.g., inverse gas chromatography, EDX, atomic force microscopy, etc.) for fine powders

• Strong data analysis skills and knowledge of statistical concepts  

• Understanding of the physical and chemical properties needed for drug substance and drug product intermediate manufacture as well as impact to successful formulation into drug product 

• Good organizational skills, the ability to work independently, and excellent oral and written communication skills

• Experience applying state-of-the-art computational approaches (such as HABIT, Materials Studio, Mercury, CosmoTherm, SimCU) to predict the properties and performance of powder samples 

• Proven ability to curate data to support developing predictive tools

Nice-to-Have  

• Demonstrated influencing and negotiating skills as well as proven skills in developing others within their own functional area

• Strong skills in planning, scheduling, forecasting, including the use of relevant IT tools

• Oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact.

• Strong interest and motivation to learn new digital technologies and concepts 

• Candidate demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact.