Head of Late Stage Formulation

​Head of Late Stage Formulation

Northern Ireland​

A global veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer with a strong international footprint is expanding its R&D leadership team and is seeking an experienced Head of Late Stage Formulation.

​The organisation develops and manufactures veterinary medicines supplied to over 100 countries worldwide, with significant ongoing investment in R&D and a robust pipeline of new product launches. This role offers the opportunity to lead a critical function at the interface of development, scale up, and commercial manufacture.

​As Head of Late Stage Formulation, you will be the technical authority for late stage formulation development, leading a specialist scientific team responsible for ensuring formulations are robust, scalable, and ready for commercial manufacture.

​You will play a key role in managing technical risk, applying Quality by Design (QbD) principles, and working cross functionally with Operations, Quality, Regulatory, and Manufacturing teams to support successful technology transfer.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Late Stage Formulation team, ensuring high technical and quality standards
• Develop and optimise veterinary drug product formulations in line with (V)ICH guidelines
• Transfer formulations from early development into late stage scale up and commercial manufacture
• Apply QbD principles to strengthen process understanding and lock down critical process parameters
• Collaborate cross functionally to support scale up, validation, and handover to manufacturing
• Oversee reverse engineering, product characterisation, and stability studies
• Provide technical input into patent and intellectual property strategy
• Author and review technical documentation to support global regulatory submissions (FDA, EMA, VICH/ICH, Ph. Eur., BP, USP)
• Drive continuous improvement within the formulation function
• Train, develop, and mentor scientific staff, maintaining strong technical capability and compliance

About You

You are an experienced formulation scientist and people leader with a strong background in regulated pharmaceutical development.

Essential experience includes:

• Postgraduate degree in Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy, or a related discipline
• 5+ years’ experience in drug product formulation development, scale up, and manufacture
• Strong working knowledge of GMP and global regulatory frameworks (FDA, EMA, VICH/ICH)
• Experience across a range of dosage forms within human or veterinary pharmaceuticals
• Proven experience leading and developing scientific teams
• Strong communication skills and a track record of effective cross functional collaboration

Why Apply?

• Lead a high impact formulation function within a globally active pharmaceutical manufacturer
• Play a key role in bringing new veterinary medicines to market
• Long term career opportunity within a growing, R&D driven organisation
• Competitive benefits package including pension, healthcare support, and generous annual leave
• Permanent, site based role with strong investment in facilities and people

Additional Information

• This role is based on a penicillin producing site and is not suitable for individuals with a penicillin allergy
• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK (visa sponsorship is not available)