Principal Scientist - Colloidal & Granular Materials Characterization

UCB - Union Chimique Belge

Braine l'Alleud, Belgium

About the role

You will play a key role in generating scientific insight that supports product development decisions. Working across a broad range of materials and therapeutic approaches, you will connect particle and materials properties to product manufacturability, performance and stability. You will design and interpret experiments, explore new analytical approaches, and communicate clear recommendations that help move development forward.

Who you’ll work with

You will be working in a team that combines deep materials science expertise with a practical, Quality by Design and collaborative mindset. You will partner with colleagues across formulation, analytical sciences, process development and device development, while also working with external research and technology partners. This is a team that values shared learning, innovation and high-quality science.

What you’ll do

• Generate materials and particle insights across modalities (NBE, Gene Therapy and NCE) that support product design and development decisions;
• Plan, run and interpret experiments using a broad range of characterisation techniques (including laser diffraction, dynamic imaging, DLS, rheology, mechanical behavior, …), adapting approaches to modality-specific needs:
  • Protein aggregation, silicon droplets/subvisible particles;
  • Colloidal systems (nano particle complex formation and isolation, …);
  • Crystalline, amorphous materials.
• Explore how material properties, formulation ingredients and process conditions affect product manufacturability (e.g., solid oral dosage forms, biologics processing, advanced delivery systems including viral/non-viral vectors) and performance;
• Perform and interpret advanced chemical and spatial imaging (e.g., IR, SEM-EDX, Optical microscopy, XCT, …) on materials to understand microstructure;
• Apply QbD principles, mechanistic understanding, and multivariate analysis to establish critical material attributes (CMAs);
• Partner with colleagues and external collaborators to solve complex scientific challenges;
• Share knowledge through reports, presentations and mentoring.

Interested? For this role we’re looking for the following education, experience and skills

• Doctoral degree, or equivalent experience, in materials science, engineering, physical sciences or a related field;
• Minimum 5 years of industry experience in pharmaceuticals or another relevant scientific field;
• Hands-on experience in colloidal and granular materials characterisation;
• Confidence working with complex scientific data and drawing practical conclusions;
• Ability to work across teams and manage multiple priorities effectively;
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative, reliable working style.

Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!