Lead Research Scientist

About the role

Croda is a FTSE 100 specialty chemical manufacturer committed to Smart Science to Improve Lives™. Our Princeton R&D team is seeking a Senior Research Scientist – Synthetic Chemistry (Polymer-Enabled) to drive innovation in pharmaceutical development, drug delivery, and bioprocessing.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with cross-functional teams to design, develop, and characterize new excipient systems and improve existing ones.
• Lead the design and synthesis of chemical systems, including polymers, small molecules, and hybrid materials for pharmaceutical applications.
• Apply polymer chemistry expertise to develop functional excipients, delivery-enabling materials, and specialty chemical solutions, while contributing broadly across synthetic chemistry challenges.
• Translate laboratory chemistry into scalable processes, collaborating with process development and manufacturing teams.
• Utilize analytical chemistry tools (e.g., NMR, HPLC, GPC, LC-MS, FTIR, GC-FID/MS, and thermal analysis) to characterize materials and guide development decisions.
• Establish structure–property relationships to inform product performance and application.
• Apply data-driven approaches (DoE, statistical analysis) to optimize processes and ensure robustness.
• Support identification of critical quality attributes (CQAs) and process parameters (CPPs) for commercial viability.
• Troubleshoot challenges related to synthesis, purification, reproducibility, and scale-up.
• Collaborate across functions to support technology transfer, commercialization, and customer-driven development.
• Generate high-quality technical documentation aligned with regulated or quality-driven environments.
• Mentor junior scientists and contribute to a collaborative, high-performance team culture.
• Participate in general lab and instrument maintenance.
• Willing to learn new techniques and application areas.

Qualifications & Experience

• Ph.D. in Chemistry (Polymer, Organic, Materials, or related field).
• Typically 10+ years of relevant industrial experience, ideally within specialty chemicals, pharmaceutical, or related sectors.
• Strong foundation in synthetic chemistry, with demonstrated ability to work across both small molecules and polymeric systems.
• Proven experience in polymer design, synthesis, modification, and characterization.
• Hands-on experience in analytical chemistry (e.g., GC-FID/MS, HPLC-ELSD/MS, and material characterization, with the ability to interpret complex datasets and guide development decisions).
• Experience or exposure to pharmaceutical formulation development, including working with excipients, understanding of drug delivery systems, and the ability to translate material properties into formulation performance.
• Experience in process development and scale-up, with an appreciation for manufacturing constraints and commercial requirements.
• Familiarity with regulated environments (e.g., cGMP or adjacent) and expectations around documentation and data integrity.
• Experience applying DoE, statistical tools, and data-driven approaches to process or product development.
• Understanding of structure–property relationships and how they translate into product performance.
• Proven ability to lead and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to translate laboratory findings into practical, scalable solutions.
• Proactive mindset with a focus on continuous improvement and business impact.