Manager, Crystallization Science

About Varda

Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules.

Varda’s W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated by Varda in-house, including the pharmaceutical processing payloads, the capsules, the C-PICA heat shields, and the satellite buses.

From life‑saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind.

Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world‑class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital.

Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.

Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in‑space ecosystem.

Our pharmaceutical team is looking for a highly motivated and effective Manager who will lead the Crystallization Screening Team towards our efforts in improving therapeutics with microgravity. This is an opportunity in an exciting area of growth for Varda, where you will get to shape Varda’s biopharma culture and will play a significant role in establishing the low Earth orbit economy.

• Oversee crystallization screening and characterization of molecules for microgravity opportunities across a diverse range of modalities including small molecules and biologics.
• Support the team in advancing the field of microgravity crystallization, while adopting best practices in drug substance development, including adoption of automation technologies to accelerate development timelines.
• Support and advance collaborations with external partners, CROs, and vendors.
• Ensure alignment of research and development activities, budgets, and timelines to company goals and initiatives, together with project organization and tracking to ensure projects deliverables meet timeline expectations.
• Effectively manage interfaces across the pharmaceutical development groups.

• Ph.D., degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science or related fields and 4+ years of relevant industry experience OR M.S., degree in related fields and 8+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Hands‑on experience with either polymorph screening of small molecules or crystallization of biologics.
• Strong foundation in materials science, organic chemistry, protein chemistry and/or physical biochemistry principles.
• Demonstrated ability to set technical direction and deliver results.
• Proficiency with data analysis tools (e.g., Excel, Graph Pad Prism, Python, or R).
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with strong organizational skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Alongside breadth, demonstrated depth of technical expertise and scientific leadership in at least one modality and aspect of drug substance development (analytical, crystallization, process engineering, or drug product development).
• Experience managing external partnerships.
• Exceptional organizational and project management capabilities.

• Ph.D., degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science or related fields and 8+ years of relevant industry experience OR M.S., degree in related fields and 12+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience in crystallography and relevant analytical techniques including XRPD, TGA, DSC, ED, cryo EM.
• 2+ years of prior people‑management experience.
• Track record of scientific achievement as demonstrated by publications in peer‑reviewed journals and presentations at scientific conferences.
• Demonstrated expertise in new technology development…