Senior Staff Engineer, Process Safety

$133,000 - $133,000/Yr

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company - Boston, MA

Full-time - Senior

Boston, MA

Chemical Manufacturing

About the position

The Senior Staff Engineer, Process Safety at Takeda is responsible for leading the process safety team and activities within the SMPD - Process Engineering & Technology team. This role focuses on developing workflows and testing plans to identify potential hazards in chemical processes, ensuring safe scale-up of pharmaceutical intermediates and active products. The engineer will integrate process safety data into digital platforms, utilize thermokinetic software for safety calculations, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance safety frameworks throughout the drug development lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Lead process safety team & activities.
• Develop suitable workflows and fit for purpose, phase appropriate testing plans for identifying potential hazards of reactive chemicals, chemical reactions, and waste streams.
• Conduct chemical hazard evaluations for combustible powders and assess material compatibility.
• Collaborate with process chemists and engineers to evaluate hazards for safe scale-up of chemical processes.
• Collect and integrate relevant process safety data into digital platforms for analysis and sharing.
• Use thermokinetic software to calculate critical process parameters and drive proactive safety interventions.
• Develop and manage centralized process safety databases for predictive safety analysis.
• Lead the development of digital protocols for conducting HAZOP analyses.
• Document and summarize safety results in an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) and generate digital process safety reports.
• Collaborate with internal and external teams to embed data-driven safety frameworks into drug substance development.
• Review digital safety reports to identify potential risks and design mitigation strategies.
• Manage key vendor relationships for advanced process safety testing.
• Lead technology development initiatives to improve efficiency.
• Stay current on process safety science and technology.

Requirements

• Ph.D. degree with 3+ years of industry experience; MS degree with 9+ years; or BS degree with 11+ years of industry experience in Material Sciences, Chemical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering.
• Previous experience in process safety in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, or fine chemical industry.
• Experience in HAZOPs and/or PHAs with a proven ability to lead safety assessments using digital tools.
• Strong background in kinetic modeling and mechanistic models for identifying critical safety limits in reaction chemistry.
• Experience with software packages for process safety prediction (e.g., AKTS, Aspen Plus, gPROMS) preferred.
• Knowledge of FAIR data principles for efficient data management.
• Sound knowledge of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) preferred.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience working in a pilot plant.
• Previous experience with contract facilities and managing technical transfers.
• Experience in working in a multi-disciplinary team environment.
• Proven scientific track record through presentations at scientific conferences and publication of peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Basic life insurance
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Paid volunteer time off
• Company holidays
• Well-being benefits
• Up to 80 hours of sick time per year
• Accrual of up to 120 hours of paid vacation for new hires