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How much do director drug product formulation development jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 1, 2026, the average yearly pay for director drug product formulation development in the United States is $163,684.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $131,500.00 and $185,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a Director of Drug Product Formulation Development do?

A Director of Drug Product Formulation Development leads teams responsible for designing and optimizing pharmaceutical formulations, ensuring that drugs are safe, effective, and manufacturable at scale. This role involves overseeing the development of drug products from early-stage research through to clinical trials and commercial manufacturing. The director collaborates with cross-functional teams, manages regulatory compliance, and ensures that product development aligns with company goals and industry standards.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Director of Drug Product Formulation Development, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Director of Drug Product Formulation Development, you need an advanced degree in pharmaceutical sciences or a related field, extensive experience in formulation development, and a deep understanding of regulatory requirements. Familiarity with analytical instrumentation, formulation software, and quality management systems, as well as certifications like PMP or Six Sigma, are highly beneficial. Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and cross-functional communication skills set outstanding candidates apart. These competencies ensure the successful development, optimization, and regulatory approval of drug products in a highly competitive and regulated environment.

What is the role of director of product development?

A director of drug product formulation development oversees the design, optimization, and testing of pharmaceutical formulations to ensure safety, efficacy, and regulatory compliance. They lead cross-functional teams, manage project timelines, and utilize scientific expertise and regulatory knowledge to bring new drug products to market efficiently.

What are some typical challenges faced by a Director of Drug Product Formulation Development, and how are they addressed within the team?

A Director of Drug Product Formulation Development often encounters challenges such as balancing innovative formulation approaches with regulatory compliance, managing cross-functional timelines, and ensuring scalability from laboratory to commercial manufacturing. Addressing these challenges typically involves close collaboration with analytical, regulatory, and manufacturing teams to align goals and troubleshoot issues early. Open communication, regular project reviews, and fostering a culture of continuous learning help the team adapt quickly to evolving project requirements and industry standards.

What is formulation development in pharma?

Formulation development in pharma involves creating and optimizing the composition of a drug product to ensure its stability, efficacy, and safety. A Director of Drug Product Formulation Development oversees this process, working with scientists to develop suitable formulations, select appropriate excipients, and validate manufacturing processes using tools like analytical testing and stability studies.

How to become an R&D director?

To become an R&D director, individuals typically need a strong educational background in a relevant scientific or engineering field, such as a master's or doctoral degree. Extensive experience in research and development, leadership skills, and a proven track record of managing projects and teams are essential, along with expertise in drug formulation, development processes, and regulatory requirements.

What is the highest paying job in pharmaceuticals?

In the pharmaceutical industry, senior executive roles such as Chief Scientific Officer or Vice President of Research and Development tend to be the highest paying positions. These roles require extensive experience, advanced degrees, and leadership skills, often offering compensation packages that include high salaries, bonuses, and stock options.
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Director Drug Product Formulation Development jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Drug Product Formulation Development job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, and 15% Part Time. Highlights an 88% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $163,684 per year, or $78.7 per hour.
Senior Director, Drug Product Development

Senior Director, Drug Product Development

Umoja Biopharma

Louisville, CO

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 21 days ago

Be an early applicant

Job description

Umoja Biopharma is an industry-leading biotech with locations in Seattle, WA and Louisville, CO, focused on transforming the treatment of cancer with a novel integrated immunotherapy platform. Our vision is to develop off-the-shelf therapies capable of treating any tumor, any time. We are a diverse and growing team working in brand-new facilities in downtown Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Colorado, and we are looking for innovative thinkers who are excited by groundbreaking science and technology, and passionate about squaring up to the challenges inherent to cutting-edge drug development. We are committed to our core values and principles that support our overall mission and strongly invite applications from enthusiastic individuals who share our commitment and help position Umoja to deliver on our goals. We at Umoja believe in the importance of stories; we are looking for great people to join our team to help us create more stories for ourselves, for you, and most importantly for patients and their families.

Umoja Biopharma – Your Body. Your Hope. Your Cure.

POSITION SUMMARY

Umoja is seeking a Head of Drug Product Development to join the Process Sciences team. This position will provide leadership for internal and external drug product manufacturing processes for lentiviral vectors, including formulation development, fill-finish and technology transfer activities for early and late-stage programs. Additionally, this position will lead the process aspects of a facility capital project to upgrade internal fill-finish manufacturing.

A successful candidate should have a thorough understanding of formulation development and fill-finish strategies and approaches for both early and late-stage products along with strong communication and collaboration skills to partner with leaders across Umoja.

This is a fully onsite role based at our Louisville, CO location with some expected travel. The level of this role will be determined based on candidate's experience and qualifications.

CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES

Specific responsibilities include:

  • Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing Drug Product and Formulation team comprised of Scientists and Engineers including recruiting, performance management, and talent development
  • Lead the Drug Product Development team activities for multiple products, including new product introduction for early phase formulation development, internal and external technical transfer, manufacturing support and clinical trial support for a frozen-in-vial lentiviral drug product
  • Serve as the primary technical point of contact for external fill-finish technical transfer
  • Drive the late-stage Drug Product Development strategy for formulation development, process qualification for manufacturing
  • Lead and serve as the primary technical point of contact for a fill-finish capital project to improve Umoja's internal manufacturing capability
  • Lead formulation and process improvements to stability, final filtration and dosage form
  • Collaborate closely with the Process Sciences team (upstream, downstream and optimization), analytical development, manufacturing, supply chain, non-clinical, clinical and research teams
  • Proactively communicate Drug Product Development strategy, plans, risks and mitigations to senior internal and external leaders
  • Serve as Drug Product Development and/or Process Sciences subject matter expert for Program Teams and Governance
  • Maintain familiarity with current scientific literature, experimental methods and manufacturing approaches

The successful candidate will have:

  • Director Level: PhD/MS/BS in Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biology or related field with 10/12/15 years of relevant experience, respectively. Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered. Minimum 6 years of people management experience.
  • Senior Director Level: PhD/MS/BS in Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biology or related field with 15/17/20 years of relevant experience, respectively. Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered. Minimum 10 years of people management experience.
  • Extensive experience with early and late phase fill-finish process and formulation development, stability, clinical and regulatory expectations, including IND and BLA authoring and/or strategy
  • Extensive experience with technical transfer and GMP manufacturing support, including Process Performance Qualification (PPQ)
  • Experience with fill-finish capital projects and practical/working knowledge of EU GMP Annex 1 guideline
  • Strong knowledge of drug product characterization, accelerated stability, container-closure selection and analytical methods
  • Strong team and executive level communication and collaboration skills, along with self-motivation to contribute to the development of novel cancer immunotherapies
  • Ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced, cross-functional and dynamic environment and perform tasks across a variety of levels

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Strong understanding of sub-visible and sub-micron particle measurement and characterization
  • Understanding and experience with viral drug products, preferably BSL2 or higher enveloped viruses
  • Working knowledge of clinical supply chain
  • Upstream, Downstream or other Process Development or Manufacturing experience
  • PUPSIT process development, implementation and qualification
  • Analytical method development experience, including stability indicating assay development
  • Experience with frozen-in-vial and lyophilized/spray dried drug products
  • Experience leading extractable and leachable studies
  • Familiarity with small-molecule drug substance and drug product formulation and fill-finish

Physical Requirements:

  • 100% compliance with personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements in biological laboratory environments for wet lab work, including gloves, protective clothing, and eye safety glasses.
  • Perform physical tasks required for the role, including standing, walking, bending, kneeling, sitting, working your hands in a biosafety cabinet, and occasionally moving materials up to 50 pounds.
  • Project-oriented work in this role will require regular on-site presence to complete essential job-related functions.
  • Ability to travel up to 20%

Director Level Salary Range: $197,300 - $243,700

Senior Director Level Salary Range: $233,500 - $288,400

Benefits Offerings

Umoja Biopharma offers its employees competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans. Additionally, we offer Umojians access to a 401k plan through Fidelity, with a 100% match up to their first 4% deferral. Umoja also provides a generous Paid Time Off policy, employee commuter benefits, and cell phone stipend. For a full breakdown of our benefits offerings, please see the Benefits section of our website.