Associate Director, R&D - Process Chemistry

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharma company whose purpose is to innovate to transform the lives of patients and their families. We are dedicated to developing life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases — often with limited or no therapeutic options. We have a diverse portfolio of marketed medicines, including leading therapies for sleep disorders and epilepsy, and a growing portfolio of cancer treatments. Our patient-focused and science-driven approach powers pioneering research and development advancements across our robust pipeline of innovative therapeutics in oncology and neuroscience. Jazz is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with research and development laboratories, manufacturing facilities and employees in multiple countries committed to serving patients worldwide.

This role requires you to be onsite full time based at our site on Kent Science Park in Sittingbourne.

The Associate Director, R&D – Process Chemistry heads the process research and development team within the Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry group at Kent Science Park, adopting a leadership and technical role and working together with other CMC functions to advance drug candidates from lead optimisation to GLP Tox.

• Lead a group of scientists and is accountable for the development activities in the Process Development Team.
• Analyse and evaluate medicinal chemistry synthetic procedures to redesign and/or identify scalable processes covering supply of early development activities up to GLP Tox.
• Plan, agree, resource and execute the optimization of a synthetic route identifying clear deliverables and milestones in accordance with the overall molecule project plan.
• Identify intellectual property generation opportunities and drive innovation within the team.
• Present regularly project updates to the department and CMC teams with a clear focus on prioritization and delivery.
• Act as the Drug Substance Lead and SME, working closely with other early CMC functions including analytical, preformulation, biopharmaceutics, Medicinal Chemistry and toxicology.
• Promote a purpose driven team environment, with a focus on safety within the department.
• Identify procedural and technical gaps within the department and drive implementation of optimized procedures.

• Relevant pharmaceutical industry experience within a Discovery/Early Development setting with a broad theoretical and practical understanding of early drug development and drug candidate nomination criteria.
• Good understanding of the key attributes that make a potential drug suitable for IND-enabling / clinical development.
• Scour relevant scientific literature within the field and survey broadly beyond own discipline/field.
• Excellent management skills, including planning and resource allocation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with external partners.
• Strong IT skills and an ability to use key software packages to produce, present and analyse data and produce compelling materials for internal and external use.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects from inception to completion, coordinating the efforts of a team within budget, timelines and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with Pharmaceutical Development on API development approaches to mitigate risk as candidates progress.
• Display the attributes encompassed in Jazz’s values and encourage their development in others.

• MSc/PhD in a chemical or pharmaceutical subject, ideally with postgraduate qualification in chemical synthesis, drug substance development or related discipline.
• Knowledge of quality and regulatory standards within the Pharmaceutical Industry in early phases and experience of applying those into drug development projects.
• cGxP awareness and experience applying this within an R&D environment.
• Ideally has experience with statistical procedures and software, particularly DoE and multivariate analysis.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law. The successful candidate will also be eligible to participate in various benefits offerings, including, but not limited to, medical, dental and vision insurance, retirement savings plan, and flexible paid vacation.