Scientific Officer

Role & responsibilities

Job Description & Responsibilities

A. Technical Support to Sales & Marketing

Act as the scientific authority behind our commercial team - converting customer problems into formulation solutions, and our formulation capability into commercial advantage.

1. Concept selling - interpret customer requirements and recommend the right VAV grades for the intended functional claim (bioavailability, permeability, solubilization, targeting, stability, etc.)
2. Provide technical support and hand-holding to existing and prospective customers through their development projects, including troubleshooting of ongoing formulations.
3. Serve as the escalation point for technical queries from the international sales team; equip them with the arguments, data, and confidence to sell on science.
4. Prepare technical literature - application notes, whitepapers, formulation dossiers, presentations, and scientific articles that position VAV ingredients as safe, efficacious, and differentiated.
5. Support new product launches with application data, positioning, and technical training for the commercial team.
6. Contribute to regulatory and customer documentation in coordination with QA/RA (specifications, technical dossiers, product justification).
7. Conduct technical webinars, customer presentations, and training sessions.
8. Represent VAV at trade exhibitions, scientific conferences, and customer meetings - in India and internationally.
9. Monitor competitor products and technological developments across pharma, nutrition, and cosmetics; feed insight back into product development.

B. Nanotechnology Applications Laboratory

Lead VAV's nanotechnology applications laboratory. The lab's purpose is to develop lipid-based formulations and pre-formulations, including nanoparticulate systems, for pharmaceutical, nutritional, and cosmetic applications.

1. Plan and commission the laboratory end to end: layout, equipment specification, vendor evaluation, procurement, installation, and qualification.
2. Build the scientific team - define roles, recruit, train, and mentor scientists and technicians.
3. Establish research systems: SOPs, documentation practices, data integrity, safety protocols, calibration and maintenance schedules, and inventory control.
4. Develop and optimize lipid-based delivery systems - liposomes, nanoemulsions, SLN/NLC, lipid nanoparticles, micelles, phytosomes, and related pre-formulation platforms.
5. Design and execute characterization protocols: particle size and PDI, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, morphology, in-vitro release, and stability.
6. Own the project pipeline - prioritize work against commercial value, set timelines, and deliver against them.
7. Generate application data packages, proof-of-concept studies, and formulation guidelines that demonstrate the performance of VAV products.
8. Support scale-up and technology transfer in coordination with the Ratnagiri manufacturing site.
9. Identify and protect intellectual property arising from laboratory work; support patent drafting where relevant.
10. Track new lipid technologies, delivery platforms, and published science; translate them into an internal development roadmap.

Preferred candidate profile

Qualification: M. Pharm or Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics / Pharmaceutical Sciences, with a strong applied track record. Project experience in nanoparticulate drug delivery, lipid-based systems, or NDDS is essential. Hands-on formulation development experience in industry or a well-equipped research setting.

Technical depth

1. Working command of lipid-based delivery systems - liposomes, LNPs, nanoemulsions, SLN/NLC, self-emulsifying systems.
2. Practical familiarity with relevant equipment and techniques: homogenization, microfluidization, extrusion, sonication, lyophilization, DLS/zeta potential, HPLC, and stability study design.
3. Understanding of excipient functionality, phospholipid chemistry, and formulationprocess interactions.
4. Awareness of regulatory expectations for excipients and NDDS in regulated markets (EU/US) is an added advantage.

Role Details

• Job Title: Scientific Officer (Lipid Applications & Nanotechnology)
• Experience: M. Pharm with 5 to 10 years experience (or Ph.D. with 3+ years of relevant industry experience)
• Age: 30 to 40 years
• Location: Nariman Point, Mumbai, with regular travel to Ratnagiri and occasional international travel
• Compensation: Commensurate with qualification and experience