Graduate Process Engineer - Start September 2024

Location - Macclesfield,UK

*Please ensure that you attach a covering lettering when applying

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company where we not only focus on the discovery, development and delivery of life-saving medicines to our patients but and believe in sustainability and are determined to minimise the impact of our work on the environment. We are proud to be a great place to work and have a culture that inspires innovation and collaboration. We empower our colleagues to express diverse perspectives and at the same time feel valued, respected and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.

At AstraZeneca, we are united by a common purpose: to push the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines. Every single day, we make a difference by delivering potentially life-changing medicines to millions of people globally and by leading breakthrough science that promises to transform the treatment of disease. Our purpose is ambitious and so is our approach. Becoming a more agile and creative company means building a dynamic, inspiring culture where we celebrate diverse, bold thinking and act with a sense of urgency. We are curious, creative, and open to new ideas and ways of working.

We work together across global boundaries to make an impact and find answers to challenges. We do this with the upmost integrity, even in the most difficult Situations because we are committed to doing the right thing. We believe in the potential of our people and you’ll develop beyond what you thought possible! We make the most of your skills and passion by actively supporting you to see what you can achieve no matter where you start with us.

Pharmaceutical Technology & Development (PT&D)

In PT&D, we believe that nothing is impossible. We combine people’s technical knowledge and understanding, with their talent and drive to design, develop and optimise synthetic routes to deliver the active pharmaceutical ingredients and formulate these into the drug products to deliver medicines to our patients in a sustainable, commercially viable way. We believe in innovation and continuous improvement, working closely with colleagues in academia and across industry, to ensure that we apply the newest technologies and principles in the processes we develop.

We are looking to recruit Graduate Process Engineers who are enthusiastic, motivated and willing to learn, to join our Process Engineering teams within PT&D.

As a Process Engineer you will work closely in cross-functional teams to develop, optimise and scale-up processes to deliver robust and sustainable drug substance and drug product manufacture.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide engineering expertise to the development and optimisation of chemical or formulation processes, to achieve robust and sustainable processes for delivery of medicines to patients. This includes laboratory experimentation, modelling and simulation and assessment and communication of the results obtained
• Work closely with our Contract Manufacturing Organisations (CMOs) across the globe, providing engineering input into process development and the accommodation of processes into manufacturing facilities
• Carry out scale-up manufacturability assessments of processes to ensure right first-time scale-up, technical transfer and future viability
• Drive learning from manufacturing and deliver process improvements
• Solve problems arising during the manufacture or process development
• Champion and drive sustainability of processes with respect to environmental sustainability, efficiency and cost
• Develop external contacts (industrial and academic) to bring learning and innovative process engineering science into AstraZeneca
• Apply technical knowledge to improvement projects and evaluate new technologies / processes, ensuring Best Available Technology (BAT) is assessed and implemented

Essential Skills and Experiences

• A degree in Chemical Engineering or equivalent.
• A well-developed understanding of unit operations such as mixing, distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, isolation and drying and their dependency on scale and equipment
• A broad knowledge of process equipment and technology
• A rational approach to problem solving, and an ability to make judgements based on sound reasoning
• Strong collaborative and communication skills

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Experience working in the Pharmaceutical or Fine Chemicals Industry
• Experience of chemical or formulation process development, scale up and / or technical transfer
• Experience of working across skillsets (e.g. chemists, analysts, formulators, statisticians)
• Ability to use modelling software (e.g. Aspen, DynoChem, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Matlab, gProms) to support process understanding

What can you expect?

This role will introduce you to process engineering science and its industrial applications, and will give you the opportunity to work within Process Engineering teams and alongside other skillsets. You will be involved in a variety of challenging and exciting projects. You will experience laboratory experimentation and pilot scale manufacture; use modelling and prediction, to design and optimise chemical or formulation processes, technology development, and technical knowledge transfer to commercial manufacture. In addition, you can expect;

• A comprehensive training programme tailored to your individual needs, supporting your development of technical and leadership skills
• The potential for opportunities to broaden your experience across R&D and Supply Chain
• A competitive salary and benefits and a mentor to support you towards IChemE chartership

Join us on our journey of building a new kind of organisation to reset expectations of what a bio-pharmaceutical company can be. Interested? Come and join our journey!

*Please ensure that you attach a covering lettering when applying

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.