WHAT DOES A DEVELOPMENT SCIENTIST DO?
Published: Oct 24, 2024 – The Development Scientist researches polymeric and composite materials to enhance properties and functionality, particularly in sealants, adhesives, and elastomers. Formulations are developed for electronic applications, and materials are characterized by their properties. The scientist also documents data, generates reports, and contributes to the company’s IP portfolio while ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Development Scientist
1. Development Scientist Job Summary
- Research Leadership: Lead research activities for feasibility and signature development of new IVD products that bring high medical value.
- Literature Review and Experimentation: Perform literature reviews and proof-of-concept experiments to rapidly assess the potential of new partnering opportunities in different therapy areas.
- Experimental Planning and Analysis: Plan, execute, and analyze experiments while maintaining detailed records of the experimental procedures.
- Immunoassay Examination: Examine in-vitro diagnostic immunoassays and support their generation through clinical studies up to release.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Represent the company to partners at the clinical sites (laboratory managers, study coordinators, physicians, etc.) and train them for the relevant activities.
- Clinical Support: Provide ongoing support to clinical labs participating in the study.
- Laboratory Maintenance: Actively participate in all laboratory maintenance procedures (equipment calibration, sample aliquoting, etc.).
- Goal Orientation and Collaboration: Accomplish individual goals, meet project timelines, and collaborate with other team members in a rapid and highly demanding environment.
- Reporting and Presentation: Prepare project reports and presentations to enable dissemination of results to internal and external stakeholders.
- Supply Chain Liaison: Liaise with suppliers and internal facilities to identify components and organize delivery in step with project timelines.
2. Mass Spec Assay Development Scientist Accountabilities
- Method Improvement: Work with colleagues to identify areas to improve the current methods and discuss methods needed to address difficult problems.
- Technology Research: Research new methods and assays, evaluate emerging technologies in the new assay space, and introduce them to the group.
- Assay Development: Design, develop, and execute new and robust assays based on the need to answer challenging problems.
- Method Optimization: Discuss with colleagues and improve on methods currently being used in the lab.
- Protocol Preparation: Prepare protocols and support the transition efforts of the new methods to the sample preparation team.
- Data Analysis: Analyze both intact mass and peptide map mass spectrometry data to support project work.
- Project Leadership: Lead multiple projects independently.
- Documentation and Reporting: Document records in electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN) and prepare reports for management and team presentations.
- Collaboration: Collaborate on projects with external partners and vendors.
- Seminar Participation: Attend in-house seminars and external scientific meetings.
3. Analytical Development Scientist Job Description
- Assay Development: Perform assay development, optimization, and qualification.
- Process Support: Lead efforts to support Process Development product characterization activities.
- Method Qualification: Design and perform method qualification protocols/experiments.
- Assay Transfer: Design and perform analytical assay transfers internally with team members in Quality Control.
- Documentation: Author and review standard test methods and reports.
- Communication: Effectively communicate critical analytical issues and solutions to clients.
- Technical Discussion: Participate/lead technical discussions with clients.
- Methodology Evaluation: Review and evaluate new methodologies/techniques to add to laboratory capabilities.
- Analytical Method Development: Develop and execute analytical methods for the evaluation of drug substance, drug product, and stability samples.
- Report Review: Review analytical development reports, assay and process validation reports, and other technical documents for technical correctness and regulatory compliance.
- Equipment Maintenance: Maintain lab equipment by following appropriate calibration and maintenance activities.
4. Development Scientist Overview
- Customer Discovery: Join customer calls to discover customer unmet needs, understand customer requirements, translate customer CTQs into technical parameters, and develop new products to fulfill customer needs.
- Product Improvement: Continually evaluate and search for improvements to existing products according to changing customer needs, product complaints/dissatisfaction, or internal production/servicing difficulties.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Participate in cross-functional growth teams.
- Business Development: Identify areas for regional business growth and new product development opportunities.
- Technology Leadership: Lead multi-generation technology platforms to ensure product portfolios are competitive and updated.
- Sustainable Product Launch: Collaborate with customers to launch new sustainable products and develop and execute successful strategies.
- Project Leadership: Lead projects through effective design of experiments.
- Global Coordination: Coordinate activities across the global technology team, AD/TS/marketing/sales, as well as manufacturing for project planning, milestones, and deliverables.
- Commercialization Support: Support global new compounding products commercialization.
- Market Insights: Participate in trade shows/technical conferences to gain insights on market trends and establish/strengthen industry connections.
5. Material Development Scientist Tasks
- Material Development: Conduct novel polymeric and composite material development research.
- Property Improvement: Attain improved material properties or additional functionality, for example, in the areas of sealants, adhesives, and elastomers.
- Formulation Development: Develop formulations through wet chemistry or melt processing for applications in various electronic devices/components such as connectors, sensors, tubing, etc.
- Material Characterization: Characterize and evaluate materials formulations, including rheological, thermal, mechanical, and/or electrical properties.
- Process Research: Conduct research in corresponding processes such as potting, molding, or extrusion to fabricate prototype devices with the material formulations.
- Data Documentation: Document experimental data, generate technical reports, and present results at internal meetings.
- Innovation Contribution: Capture materials and process innovation and contribute to TE’s IP portfolio.
- Technology Scouting: Perform literature/patent searches and scout commercially available technologies in the field of sealants, adhesives, and elastomers.
- Technical Support: Provide technical support to various business units on materials-related challenges.
- Compliance Adherence: Perform all duties in strict compliance with Standard Operating Procedures, Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Laboratory Practices, and Safety guidelines.