Senior Application Scientist, Pharma Solutions

Job Summary

IFF Pharma Solutions is one of 4 divisions of the company, focused on developing the most essential pharmaceutical, dietary supplement, and industrial polymer solutions. Our leading excipient brands, such as METHOCEL, AVICEL, ETHOCEL, POLYOX and Ac-Di-Sol, are found in 1 out of every 3 tablets in the world; we have a broad plant-based portfolio for a variety of supplement applications.

To learn more about Pharma Solutions, visit http://pharma.iff.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/iff-pharma-solutions/

With a passion for science and creativity, we seek to deliver the answers our customers need so they can produce life-saving drugs, everyday wellness solutions and vital consumer products. Deep polymer and applications expertise mean we dig deeper to ensure performance and process benefits for customer formulations. And with our commitment to quality, reliability, and sustainability, we can deliver solutions that help benefit our world. 

We have an exciting career opportunity for a technical talent to join our Japan team as Senior Application Scientist. This position is Japan based and will report into the Asia Application Development Leader. 

Your Focus

As Senior Application Specialist, you will be responsible for technical growth and support projects at assigned customers, while working in close cooperation with respective Account Managers. You will play an important role with pharmaceutical customers, representing technical community as problem-solvers. Often the first to identify new opportunities, you will collaborate with the Product and Process R&D groups to develop new products or process technology to support customers. 

The role will see you providing the critical link between customers and technical expertise, from troubleshooting to supporting processing of existing products at customers, to defining new product applications and modifying existing products to meet new customer needs.

How you will contribute

• Partner with the commercial team to understand how you can help deliver and exceed the business performance targets. Developing customer intimacy and generating or presenting relevant, credible, high quality technical information for targeted customers.
• Constantly engage with customers, building productive and collaborative trust-based relationships with the assigned accounts.
• Cover immediate action and troubleshooting at customers in close cooperation with Sales, Research and manufacturing activities, including sampling, identifying problem source and reporting.
• Participate and follow application and product development activities. Lead implementation at core customers in cooperation with other AD&I Scientist /R&D colleagues and in alignment with the business strategy.
• Ensure product quality and performance standards meet customer needs through continuous evaluation of product. Handle customer specification requests, access and analyze QA/QC data and information.
• Work closely with customers to ensure existing products projects run smoothly and position IFF new products and technologies.
• Present technical papers at conferences, in webinars and other external situations to promote IFF products and technology.
• Collaborate with regulatory team to support product registration, technical consulting and communication with local regulatory authorities, such as ChP and exert technical impacts on regulatory representing IFF.

What you will need to be successful

• PhD or Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Science or relevant discipline.
• Master’s degree with over 9 years’ experience or PhD with over 6 years hands-on experience from pharmaceutical company or similar industry is required.
• Industry experience in formulation of immediate and modified release oral solid dosage forms. Knowledge in nutraceuticals is a plus.
• Industry experience in formulation of liquid suspension & semi-solid dosage forms, such as gel, cream, lotion is a plus.
• Ability to influence customer’s decision in selecting excipients in their Pharma drug products.
• Ability to articulate and showcase product attributes as benefits that are relevant and meaningful to customers.
• Ability to present complex technical information into business language for various audiences.
• Expertise in trouble shooting and providing solutions for our customers using IFF products.
• Proven track record in technical service and product development experience.
• Willingness to travel of up to 40-60%, mainly within Japan but may expand to Asia Pacific or global sites.
• Good English and Japanese language communication skill, fluency in other languages will be advantageous.

The Pharma Solutions business will be taking on its next chapter of growth as a trusted partner for the pharmaceutical industry with the announcement to sell Pharma Solutions to Roquette. This move will position Pharma Solutions to expand its industry leadership through continued investment in innovation to meet the evolving needs of pharmaceutical manufacturers and developers worldwide.

The sale is presently expected to close in the first half of 2025, pending regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. The Pharma Solutions business unit will remain a part of IFF until close and, at such time, it will transition to Roquette. In applying for this position, you acknowledge your awareness that the position is a part of the Pharma Solutions business unit and has been identified to transition to Roquette.

We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more

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