External Innovation, Chemistry

China

The actual location of this job is in Shanghai, China.

Every day, our teams across the world work together to turn scientific breakthroughs into life-changing medicines that reach up to 100 million patients a year. Lonza is a place where people can make a unique impact, grow their careers and belong.

At Lonza, you will play a key role in identifying and advancing innovative chemistry technologies that shape the future of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. As Senior Principal Scientist, External Innovation, Chemistry, you will drive collaborations across academia, biotechnology companies, start-ups, and technology partners to translate emerging scientific advances into scalable, differentiated solutions that create value for our customers and patients.

What you will get:

• An agile career and dynamic working culture.
• An inclusive and ethical workplace.
• Compensation programs that recognize high performance.
• A variety of benefits dependent on role and location.

The full list of our global benefits can be found here: https://www.lonza.com/careers/benefits.

What you will do:

• Develop and maintain technology roadmaps for metal catalysis and biocatalysis aligned with customer needs, portfolio priorities, and long-term manufacturing strategies.
• Identify, evaluate, and translate emerging technologies, scientific trends, and external innovation opportunities into actionable development programs and strategic recommendations.
• Establish and manage collaborations with universities, start-ups, biotechnology companies, CROs, technology providers, and other external partners in China and globally.
• Lead scientific due diligence, proof-of-concept activities, technology assessments, and technology transfer initiatives to advance innovative capabilities across the organization.
• Design, oversee, or support experimental programs focused on catalyst and enzyme performance, reaction optimization, scalability, manufacturability, and process robustness.
• Evaluate the technical, commercial, intellectual property, sustainability, and strategic value of emerging technologies and innovation opportunities.
• Build strong internal and external networks while supporting customer discussions and enabling the deployment of innovative technologies across development programs.

What we are looking for:

• PhD in Organic Chemistry, Organometallic Chemistry, Catalysis, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Enzymology, or a related scientific discipline.
• Deep expertise in metal catalysis and pharmaceutical process development, with a strong understanding of synthetic organic chemistry and modern catalytic methodologies.
• Working knowledge of biocatalysis, enzyme technologies, reaction engineering, or chemoenzymatic synthesis, with the ability to assess and apply emerging technologies.
• Demonstrate experience evaluating scientific innovations and translating them into scalable development programs, new capabilities, or business opportunities.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary projects and manage collaborations with academic institutions, biotechnology companies, technology providers, or other external partners.
• Strong understanding of technology transfer, intellectual property, process scalability, safety, sustainability, and commercial feasibility within the pharmaceutical or life sciences industry.
• Demonstrate excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with an established network in China's chemistry or biotechnology ecosystem and the ability to influence strategic decision-making across scientific and commercial teams.

You will feel at home at Lonza if you:

• Take ownership, step forward, and enjoy meaningful responsibility

• Love solving problems and thrive in a complex, fast-moving environment

• Are curious, always looking to learn and improve

• Work collaboratively, contributing to something bigger than yourself

• Are motivated to make a difference through work that impacts customers and their patients

Why Lonza:

We are a place of unique opportunity, where your ideas, expertise and ambition can make a real difference. Here, you will have the freedom to grow, the support to succeed and the chance to contribute to work that matters.

We are the makers of the medicines of tomorrow.

Join us. Be you. Apply now.