Senior Director, Material Science

General Summary:

Vertex is seeking a talented individual to join the Engineering and Materials Science department in Boston, MA to lead the Materials Development Group. The Material Science Senior Director will support Vertex's drug development programs through a specialized depth and breadth of knowledge of various relationships between materials properties, pharmaceutical processing conditions, and final product performance and quality attributes. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of applying specialized knowledge in solid state science and engineering principles and be a productive, results-oriented leader who is able to lead a diverse team of engineers and scientists and contribute to the successful development and scale-up of drug substance and drug product candidates.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead a team responsible to:
• Design experiments to discover and characterize all aspects of solid form discovery and development (stable form identification, polymorphism, salts, co-crystals, amorphous material, etc.) for pharmaceutical solid-state materials
• Design, validate, and implement advanced characterization techniques and predictive models which connect material properties, pharmaceutical processing conditions, and final product performance in the interest of process development and streamlining formulation design
• Leverage knowledge of physiochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of drug substances to influence in vitro and/or in vivo studies that resolve issues related to drug discovery and formulation development.
• Decipher pharmacokinetic data and be accountable for nominating the most appropriate API polymorph across all phases of development.
• Drive project activities and scientific strategies (including at external CROs)
• Potentially lead projects, representing all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences
• Drive innovation and explore new scientific projects and/or business initiatives for company consideration
• Be vested in developing team members and technically mentoring junior-level scientists
• Work in a fast-paced environment with the ability to track multiple assets at a time and make decisions based on limited and evolving data.
• Build a strong network internally and externally to ensure visibility in the field by participation in scientific meetings and/or publishing high quality work
• Influence the strategic direction of the Materials Development Group and the Engineering and Materials Science department
• Use excellent communication and interpersonal skills to influence stakeholders and interact, lead, and collaborate within an interdisciplinary team comprised of chemical engineers, organic, physical, and analytical chemists, materials and solid-state scientists, and formulation development personnel

Knowledge and Skills:

• Experience leading a team of scientists and engineers for materials discovery in the pharmaceutical domain
• Advanced knowledge of solid form discovery, development, and characterization of APIs, inclusive of computational modeling application, from GLP Tox through to commercial
• Accountability for polymorph selection
• Knowledge of pharmacokinetic principles
• Experience with process development and problem solving in a matrix environment
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence both stakeholders and team members

Education and Experience:

• A BS (+ 20 years), MS (+ 15 years) or PhD (+ 11 years) in Materials Science/Chemistry, or a closely related field, with relevant pharmaceutical materials development experience
• 5 years experience managing a team