Statistician (Scientist) in Macclesfield

AstraZeneca is a global, science‑led healthcare organisation focused on discovering, developing and manufacturing life‑changing medicines. We are more than a leading pharmaceutical company; we’re a place where people are encouraged to share ideas, collaborate across disciplines and bring their creativity to work every day. Our culture empowers colleagues to contribute diverse perspectives, feel valued and supported, and make a meaningful impact for patients.

Within this, Pharmaceutical Technology and Development (PT&D) play a vital role in turning scientific innovation into real medicines. PT&D designs and delivers the active ingredients, formulations and devices needed to progress new treatments from early toxicology studies and clinical trials through to commercial‑scale manufacture. As part of PT&D, Chemical Development (CD) focuses on creating sustainable, scalable and high‑quality processes that ensure our medicines can be produced reliably and efficiently for patients worldwide.

In Chemical Development (CD), we believe in possibility. Our teams push scientific boundaries to deliver medicines that make a real difference for patients. We bring together deep technical expertise, creativity and a strong drive for problem‑solving to design, develop and optimise synthetic routes and analytical methods that produce active pharmaceutical ingredients in a sustainable and commercially viable way. Innovation and continuous improvement are central to how we work. We collaborate closely with academic partners and industry experts to apply the latest technologies, principles and digital approaches to the development and delivery of our medicines. This mindset helps us advance science, strengthen our processes and accelerate the path from molecule to medicine.

We now have an exciting opportunity for a Scientist (Statistics) to join our growing Automation and Data Science (ADS) unit within Chemical Development. ADS brings together our digital strategy, enabling us to build, deploy and maintain new digital tools and technologies that support scientific exploration and smarter decision‑making. As part of ADS, you will help shape the future of CD by advancing data‑driven approaches and contributing to our digital transformation.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide statistical support primarily for our Manufacturing Science and Commercial Supply (MS&CS) unit, using data-driven techniques to provide statistical rigour to decisions affecting our manufacturing and analytical processes.
• Deliver statistical analysis to support lifecycle management activities within the MS&CS API portfolio through use of basic and advanced statistics, data visualisation, multivariate modelling, and data analytics.
• Assess internal and externally generated data carefully considering its reliability, interpretations and findings.
• Deliver timely support in a fast-paced regulated environment, whilst drawing authoritative conclusions and recommendations so that the significance of the data can be appreciated by a broad skill range.
• Utilise data visualisation and statistical analysis to support core business processes (e.g. problem solving, process optimisation, tech transfer, process validation and qualification, continued process verification, analytical method development, etc.).
• Champion robust data-driven approaches to improving process understanding, by enabling and driving use of data across the project portfolio, whilst collaborating with the wide range of other MS&CS and CD skillsets (project technical experts, chemists, analytical chemists, engineers and particle engineers).
• Advance the digital ambition of CD by developing, trialling, and promoting new ways of working, technologies, or methods.
• Enhance the capability of MS&CS project teams by upskilling and coaching in basic statistics and data analysis techniques.
• Be responsible for maintaining strong links to the wider data strategy in CD and across PT&D and improving the external profile of AstraZeneca, CD and MS&CS by publication and presentation.

All these activities will have a significant impact on the speed, quality and cost of the AZ commercial portfolio, the overall success of the Supply Chain as well as ensuring the commercial viability of our medicines. The role, therefore, has a significant impact on both financial and reputational aspects of the business.

Essential Requirements:

• BSc with a significant statistical/mathematical component or equivalent experience.
• A strong interest in the pharmaceutical industry.
• Strong experience in the use of basic statistics (e.g. descriptive statistics, hypothesis tests, linear regression, analysis of variance) and statistical visualisation techniques.
• Strong experience using commercial statistical analysis software (e.g. Minitab, JMP, SAS) or open-source solutions (R, Python).
• Broad knowledge of statistical methods and visualisations and their application to process data.
• Application of exploratory data analysis and regression/correlation techniques for exploring relationships within manufacturing/scientific datasets.
• Good presentation skills and the ability to deliver complicated statistical analysis to customers in a clear and understandable way, enabling further decision-making processes.
• Active listening and consultancy skills, with the ability to scope the problem statement and to understand pain points of customers.

Desirable Requirements:

• MSc or higher in a statistics related discipline with relevant industrial experience, or in a chemistry/engineering discipline with demonstrable statistics or chemometrics experience.
• Experience with industrial and process analytics (e.g. Chemometrics and Multivariate Analysis, Continued Process Verification, Statistical Process Control, Process Capability, etc.) in a pharmaceutical or fine chemical manufacturing environment.
• Experience with application of statistical methodologies within a pharmaceutical or regulated environment.
• Experience in support of regulatory interactions and responses.
• Familiar with working with databases, mining, and data architecture fundamentals, including SQL.
• Demonstrated ability to work in multidisciplinary teams delivering statistics and data analytics support with ability to manage multiple projects.
• Enthusiasm in helping customers to resolve problems and providing proactive suggestions in preventing similar issues recurring.

Please note applications must include your current CV and cover letter which details your key areas of strength / development and why you should be considered for the role.

Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.