About the Department
For more than 100 years, Novo Nordisk has been tackling the unmet medical needs of people living with serious chronic diseases, such as diabetes & obesity. Being part of Novo Nordisk allows our employees to embark on the opportunity to help improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world.
Our new Petersburg, Virginia site marks a strategic move to advance our capabilities in Emerging Technologies (ET) within Chemical API development and production. The highly experienced site is designed to strengthen and accelerate our Small Molecule (SMOL) strategy while amplifying our operational capacity. This is to safeguard and support ET´s SMOL projects in the coming years, aligning with our vision and strengthening our potential for growth and innovation.
What we offer you:
At Novo Nordisk, you will find opportunities, resources, and mentorship to help grow and build your career. Are you ready to realize your potential? Join Team Novo Nordisk and help us make what matters.
The Position
The Research Engineer will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing new or revised processes for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) or API intermediate for large scale production in cooperation with the pilot-plant, Engineering, and Production department.
This person will take promising chemical processes and scale them up-moving from grams to multi-kilogram batches-while optimizing for safety, speed, and yield. This is a hands-on role that requires a strong knowledge of chemistry and chemical engineer.
Relationships
Reports to Director of R&D Emerging technologies
Essential Functions
Physical Requirements
Moves equipment &/or supplies weighing up to 33 pounds within the facility using various body positions. Ability to do close precision work with their hands. Must be able to remain in a stationary position (sitting and standing) 50% of the time. May required corrected vision to 20/25 based on role. May require color vision based on role. Occasionally ascends/descends a ladder. May be required to work at elevated heights. Occasionally works around odorous &/or hazardous materials.
Qualifications
Master's Degree with four (4) years of relevant experience or a PhD with zero (0) industry or post-doctorate experience required, degrees within Chemical Engineering or Organic Chemistry highly preferred
May consider candidates with a Bachelor's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering or relevant field of study from an accredited university with a minimum of six (6) years of experience in industrial process chemistry required, preferably within a pharmaceutical company
Relevant experience includes:
Experience and understanding of API Development, e.g. route scouting & development, scale-up, process characterization and implementation for pilot plant scale-up
Knowledge of the theory and techniques of scientific and industrial pharmacy
Knowledge of chemistry activities in the lab through all phases of development up to and including commercial products
Quality and safety mindset and excellent analytical skills
Strong verbal & written communication skills, including presentation skills
Proven process improvement & problem-solving skills
Preferred qualifications:
Strong understanding of organic synthesis, heat transfer, mass balance, and fluid dynamics.
Knowledge of cGMP and regulatory requirements for API manufacturing for clinical trials and commercial use
Excellent customer service skills
We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.
At Novo Nordisk, were not chasing quick fixes - were creating lasting change for long-term health. For over 100 years, weve been driven by a single purpose: to defeat serious chronic diseases and help millions of people live healthier lives. This dedication fuels our constant curiosity and inspires us to push the boundaries of whats possible in healthcare. We embrace diverse perspectives, seek out bold ideas, and build partnerships rooted in shared purpose. Together, were making healthcare more accessible, treating and defeating diseases, and pioneering solutions that create change spanning generations. When you join us, you become part of something bigger - a legacy of impact that reaches far beyond today.
Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.
If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.
Starting a career at Novo Nordisk is more than getting a job. It is an opportunity to improve the lives of millions of people living with a serious chronic disease.
Whether you are a part of supplying insulin for patients around the world, discovering the next breakthrough at one of our state-of-the-art research centres, working with us is truly life-changing.
We are a proud life-science company on a mission to ensure that people living with a chronic disease can live a full life. Millions rely on us.
We’re inspired by life in all its forms and shapes, ups and downs, opportunities and challenges. From our colleagues in the lab, working to change lives through pioneering break-through treatments, to our colleagues putting sustainability at the core of our processes and working to prolong the life of our planet, this mission to improve lives is at the core of our every action.
Change is a constant — change in lifestyle, change in technology, change all over. At Novo Nordisk, we don’t wait for change. We drive it.
We’re a dynamic company in an even more dynamic industry, and we know that what got us to where we are today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future.
That’s why we continuously push to improve the way we work and the lives of the patients we serve, creating innovative solutions that fit the way people want to live. To accomplish this, we embrace a spirit of open-mindedness and experimentation, striving for excellence without fixating on perfection.
Our company is our people. We know that life is anything but linear and balancing what is important at different stages of our career is never easy. That’s why we make room for diverse life situations, always putting people first. We want to ensure that every employee can achieve a work-life balance that supports their current priorities and where they want to go next.
We value our employees for the unique skills, backgrounds and perspectives they bring to the table. We work continuously to help bring out the best in all of our people, offering opportunities for development and creating an environment of mobility within the company. We strive to offer a workplace that’s great to be in and to be from.
It is very important to us that anyone working with us feels empowered as an employee and as a person. We all should have the opportunity to act fast, make decisions and be agile.
With a career at our company, you will feel a difference right from the start. A sense of inspiration that comes from a shared belief in driving positive change for people, families and communities everywhere, and it’s a collective effort. We rely on the joint potential and collaboration of our more than 45,000 employees.
In the video above, meet Marie Darting, one of our scientists, and hear more about her work as a formulation scientist, her perspective on development plans and the impact she feels her work has on people living with a chronic disease.
We were founded in 1923 and today we are a global healthcare company headquartered just outside Copenhagen, Denmark.
Our purpose is to drive change to defeat diabetes and other serious chronic diseases, such as obesity and rare blood and endocrine disorders. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines , and working to prevent and ultimately cure diabetes.
With almost 100 years of experience, one of the broadest diabetes product portfolios in the healthcare industry, as well as an award-winning pipeline of innovative products, our success is built on our company values – the Novo Nordisk Way.