Amgen Inc. Posted August 20, 2026

Senior Scientist (Small Molecule, Synthetics)

Thousand Oaks, United States Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Senior

Amgen Inc. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Career Category

Scientific

Job Description

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients

At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission, to serve patients living with serious illnesses, drives all that we do.

Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas –Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease– we reach millions of patients each year. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity and obesity-related conditions. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives.

Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Senior Scientist (Small Molecule, Synthetics)

What you will do

Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role you will serve as part of the Drug Product Team (DPT), providing creative functional area strategies, crafting and executing DOE’s during the development of pivotal and commercial ready programs.

This Amgen leader will apply deep expertise in organic chemistry and their assemblies to develop innovative, fast-paced approaches as part of cross-functional teams.

This Amgen’s leader will utilize deep understanding of the organic molecules and their assemblies to develop innovative and fast paced development approaches as part of cross-functional teams.

Interface within the DPT department and with other Amgen functions, such as Drug Substance Technologies, Attribute Sciences, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, Contract Manufacturing, Pharmacokinetics and Drug Metabolism, Clinical Development, Biostatistics, etc.

The individual will effectively interface within the DPT department and with other Amgen functions, such as Drug Substance Technologies, Attribute Sciences, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, Contract Manufacturing, Pharmacokinetics and Drug Metabolism, Clinical Development, Biostatistics, etc.

Design and execute experiments to support drug product development objectives.

Summarize results in technical documents, regulatory filings, and presentations.

Engage proactively and effectively with external industry groups, such as the IQ Consortium, and academic partners, such as university consortia.

Provide technical expertise related to structure, reactivity, and physicochemical properties of materials (drug substance, excipients, etc.)

What we expect of you

We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. The professional we seek is a leader with these qualifications.

Basic Qualifications:

Doctorate degree PhD OR PharmD OR MD [and relevant post-doc where applicable]

OR

Master’s degree and 3 years of scientific related experience

OR

Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of scientific related experience

Preferred Qualifications:

Ph.D. in a relevant scientific field, such as Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Strong scientific background for the deep understanding of the organic molecules and their assemblies.

Profound scientific acumen with a focus on organic chemistry, Physical Chemistry, solid-state chemistry, and the physicochemical properties of small molecules.

Industry experience: Prior work in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly with oral solid dosage forms.

Technical proficiency: Familiarity with a wide array of characterization techniques, including but not limited to XRPD, DSC, TGA, and SEM.

Patent process knowledge: Understanding of the patent application process and the legal framework governing patents is advantageous.

Demonstrated understanding of scientific principles related to solid dosage forms.

Manufacturing insights: Comprehensive knowledge of unit operations involved in producing oral solid dosage forms.

Research leadership: Ability to design, conduct, and complete independent formulation research.

Publication record: Demonstrated history of research dissemination through publications.

Team collaboration: Proven track record of effective cross-functional team engagement.

Writing excellence: Exceptional technical writing capabilities with meticulous attention to detail.

A proactive, curious, and innovative mindset, with enthusiasm for applying digital solutions to scientific challenges.

What you can expect from us

As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, we’ll support your journey every step of the way.

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include:

A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan

Stock-based long-term incentives

Award-winning time-off plans

Flexible work models where possible. Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies.

Apply now and make a lasting impact with the Amgen team.

careers.amgen.com

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Application deadline

Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed.

As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of diverse, ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider you without regard to your race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.

. Salary Range

126,066.05USD -170,559.95 USD

Job details

Seniority
Senior
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Thousand Oaks, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 195 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 32 biopharma companies.

195Comparable roles tracked
184Currently active
32Companies hiring similar roles
10Countries represented

Salary context

66 of 195 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Research Associate, Analytical Operations · Gilead Sciences, Inc. $94,945/yr – $122,870/yr
Peer group range $108,908 – $269,350 (median $176,900)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 195 comparable roles

United States161
India8
Germany7
Canada4
United Kingdom4
China4

+ 4 more countries

Seniority mix

195 of 195 peers have a known seniority level

Senior105
Principal65
Associate Director25

Therapeutic area mix

32 of 195 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology17
Cardiovascular / CVRM9
Immunology3
Neuroscience2
Respiratory1

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The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
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Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.