Senior Director, Material Science
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
June 27, 2026
On-site
Boston, MA
Operations
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead a team responsible to:
- Design experiments to discover and characterize solid form discovery and development (stable form identification, polymorphism, salts, co-crystals, amorphous material, etc.) for pharmaceutical solid-state materials
- Design, validate, and implement advanced characterization techniques and predictive models connecting material properties, pharmaceutical processing conditions, and final product performance to streamline formulation design
- Leverage physiochemical and biopharmaceutical properties to influence in vitro and/or in vivo studies for drug discovery and formulation development
- Decipher pharmacokinetic data and nominate the most appropriate API polymorph across all phases of development
- Drive project activities and scientific strategies (including at external CROs)
- Potentially lead projects representing all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences
- Drive innovation; explore new scientific projects and/or business initiatives
- Develop team members; mentor junior-level scientists
- Work in a fast-paced environment; track multiple assets and make decisions with limited, evolving data
- Build internal/external network via meetings and/or publishing
- Influence strategic direction of Materials Development Group and Engineering and Materials Science department
- Communicate and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams
Knowledge and Skills:
- Experience leading materials discovery teams in the pharmaceutical domain
- Advanced knowledge of solid form discovery/development/characterization of APIs (including computational modeling) from GLP Tox through to commercial
- Accountability for polymorph selection
- Knowledge of pharmacokinetic principles
- Process development and problem solving in a matrix environment
- Strong communication and stakeholder influence
Education and Experience:
- BS (+20 years), MS (+15 years), or PhD (+11 years) in Materials Science/Chemistry or related field with pharmaceutical materials development experience
- 5 years experience managing a team
Benefits and Application:
- Pay range: $217,900 - $326,900 (eligible for annual bonus and annual equity awards; additional benefits are described in the posting)
- On-site designated role: five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility
- Lead a team responsible to:
- Design experiments to discover and characterize solid form discovery and development (stable form identification, polymorphism, salts, co-crystals, amorphous material, etc.) for pharmaceutical solid-state materials
- Design, validate, and implement advanced characterization techniques and predictive models connecting material properties, pharmaceutical processing conditions, and final product performance to streamline formulation design
- Leverage physiochemical and biopharmaceutical properties to influence in vitro and/or in vivo studies for drug discovery and formulation development
- Decipher pharmacokinetic data and nominate the most appropriate API polymorph across all phases of development
- Drive project activities and scientific strategies (including at external CROs)
- Potentially lead projects representing all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences
- Drive innovation; explore new scientific projects and/or business initiatives
- Develop team members; mentor junior-level scientists
- Work in a fast-paced environment; track multiple assets and make decisions with limited, evolving data
- Build internal/external network via meetings and/or publishing
- Influence strategic direction of Materials Development Group and Engineering and Materials Science department
- Communicate and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams
Knowledge and Skills:
- Experience leading materials discovery teams in the pharmaceutical domain
- Advanced knowledge of solid form discovery/development/characterization of APIs (including computational modeling) from GLP Tox through to commercial
- Accountability for polymorph selection
- Knowledge of pharmacokinetic principles
- Process development and problem solving in a matrix environment
- Strong communication and stakeholder influence
Education and Experience:
- BS (+20 years), MS (+15 years), or PhD (+11 years) in Materials Science/Chemistry or related field with pharmaceutical materials development experience
- 5 years experience managing a team
Benefits and Application:
- Pay range: $217,900 - $326,900 (eligible for annual bonus and annual equity awards; additional benefits are described in the posting)
- On-site designated role: five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility