Sr. / Scientist, Formulation and Delivery Sciences

Role details

Sr. / Scientist, Formulation and Delivery Sciences

VitaKey is an exciting startup developing and commercializing proprietary technology for controlled, targeted, extended, and sustained delivery of macronutrients, micronutrients, probiotics, biologics, small molecules, etc. to be included in everyday foods and beverages to improve human health. We are seeking innovative and motivated scientists and engineers to be part of the company's next phase of growth at our Durham NC HQ. Learn more about our company on our website at www.VitaKey.com.

Role Summary

This is an on-site, lab-based role. Responsibilities will involve leading, designing, and executing lab-scale R&D of new formulation and drug delivery platform technologies. Responsibilities will also include leveraging expertise in chemistry and/or materials science to propose novel formulation strategies, using bench formulation equipment to generate and evaluate formulations, executing stability testing of formulation approaches, and traveling to partner manufacturing sites for technology transfer.

Responsibilities, in some cases, will also include mammalian and/or bacterial cell culture, including performing common techniques such as viral transduction, differentiation, and viability assays. You will serve as an individual contributor and may mentor or direct other scientists. Projects will be highly interdisciplinary, at the intersection of engineering, biochemistry, materials science, food science and nutrition.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Design new formulation and drug delivery approaches for VitaKey payloads
• Use spray drying, hot melt extrusion, fluidized bed coating, wet granulation, dry granulation, various milling, lyophilization, etc. to formulate payloads at lab scale
• Perform physicochemical characterization of produced formulations (e.g., DSC, particle size, flowability, moisture, water activity)
• Evaluate formulations in assays including release and/or stability assays
• Establish robust methodology for producing formulations to enable technology transfer for scale up
• Compile characterization and process data into AI-compatible formats and regularly use AI to accelerate new formulation development
• Maintain mammalian and/or microbial cell stocks and perform downstream assays on these cells
• Document results in electronic lab notebook system
• Prepare monthly reports of project progress
• Interface with biological, process development, analytical development, and clinical teams to support company-wide objectives; regularly present findings at company meetings
• Travel to pilot/manufacturing sites to participate in technology transfer
• May mentor and direct other scientists

Qualifications

• PhD with 0-4 years of industry experience in chemical engineering, organic chemistry, materials science, bioengineering, or related disciplines
• Track record (e.g., first author publications, launched products) of developing innovative formulation and/or drug delivery strategies
• Hands-on experience with common cell culture techniques including viral transduction, flow cytometry, and/or viability assessment
• Experience using scalable formulation processing techniques such as spray drying, emulsions, fluidized bed coating, granulation, freeze drying, and/or hot melt extrusion
• Experience leveraging AI tools in parallel to wet lab science to improve productivity
• Knowledge of neural networks, receptor biology, and/or microbiology are a plus
• Exposure to Quality by Design
• Entrepreneurial and self-motivated work style; comfort in ambiguity
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey ideas clearly to scientists and non-scientists alike
• Startup experience is highly valued, but not required
• Candidates must work full time on-site in Durham, NC
• Ability to adjust rapidly to changing scientific priorities and technologies