Formulation Scientist

Job title:
Scientist I

Location:
West point PA

Duration:12 months

Pay rate: $36/hr.

Vaccine Drug Product Development, a part of ***’s Research Laboratories in West Point, PA, is seeking a Contract Scientist or Engineer to join our department for one year. The selected candidate will work as part of a team responsible for the design and development of vaccine drug products from preclinical through Phase III with a line of sight to commercialization. The successful candidate will work hands-on in a fast-paced laboratory and collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams to develop the next generation of vaccine drug products.

• Design and perform hypothesis‑driven formulation and process development experiments for sterile vaccine drug products (buffers, stabilizers, antigen/adjuvant, vials, syringes) across multiple vaccine modalities (subunit, conjugate, live‑attenuated, etc.).
• Prepare formulations and fill vials/syringes for characterization & animal studies using aseptic technique and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP); support transfer to GMP manufacturing.
• Conduct stability and forced‑degradation studies; analyze data, summarize findings, and author technical reports and electronic notebook entries.
• Operate and troubleshoot benchtop unit operations (mixing, filtration, pumping, lyophilization), common lab instruments (pH, scales, pipettes), and analytical tools (DLS, SLS, KF, DSC, DSF).
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams (discovery, analytical, manufacturing, regulatory) to meet project timelines and deliverables.
• Continuously learn and apply current literature, methods, and technologies to improve formulations and processes.
• Support selected analytical studies on formulated products such as osmolality, viscosity, pH, and dynamic light scattering.
• Follow safe laboratory practices and maintain the work area in a clean, orderly and safe manner.
• Draft, review and execute protocols for batch manufacture.

Minimum

Education Requirements:

B.S. in Chemical/Biochemical/Biomedical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Immunology, Materials Science, or related field with 1-3 years of relevant experience.

• Hands‑on laboratory experience (academic or industry) with basic sterile technique, buffer preparation, and sample handling.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; experience documenting experiments in electronic or paper lab notebooks.
• Basic data analysis skills and ability to summarize and visualize experimental results.
• Scientific and mechanical aptitude and experience maintaining, designing, and/or operating scientific equipment and machinery.
• Ability to follow safe laboratory practices and maintain work area in a clean, orderly, and safe manner.
• Team‑oriented, motivated to learn, and able to manage multiple priorities under technical supervision.
• Comfortable working in a face‑paced environment and adapting to change.

• Familiarity with biophysical/biochemical analytical methods (e.g., DLS, HPLC, SDS‑PAGE, UV/Vis).
• Understanding of aseptic/formulation processes in a non‑GMP or GMP environment.
• Familiarity with statistical/design‑of‑experiments tools (JMP, Minitab) or numerical software (Matlab).
• A desire to develop complex pharmaceutical products and continuously learn.
• A passion to contribute to the development of pharmaceutical products with a significant potential to impact global human health.

Preferred candidates will have experience in drug product development techniques (e.g. formulation, filtration, analytical/biochemical/biophysical characterization, and process development).