Head of Life Sciences R&D, Life Sciences (EMEA) m/f/d
Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting?
Who needs to understand how things work - and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious problem solver who thrives at the intersection of science, customers, and business? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious? Are you always solving?
Then we’d like to meet you - and we bet you’d like to meet us.
Ashland has an exciting opportunity for an R&D Leader to join our Life Sciences R&D organization at our Düsseldorf, Germany R&D laboratory. This is a highly visible, strategically critical leadership role within the Company and the R&D function, supporting Ashland’s pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical businesses across the EMEA region. This position reports into the Sr. Global R&D Leader, Life Sciences.
Position Summary
The Head of Life Sciences R&D, Life Sciences – (EMEA) leads and develops a multi‑disciplinary R&D organization based in Düsseldorf, focused on oral solid dosage (OSD), injectable formulations, and bioprocessing‑related technologies. The role supports Ashland’s portfolio of excipients, bio‑based polymers, and enabling technologies for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers.
This role integrates scientific leadership, people leadership, and business partnership, ensuring that regional R&D programs are aligned with global Life Sciences strategy, regulatory expectations, and customer needs. The Leader is accountable for delivering robust, scalable, and compliant technical solutions while fostering a culture of safety, quality, scientific rigor, and inclusion.
Key Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Provide strategic and operational leadership for pharma and biopharma R&D activities across EMEA.
- Lead, coach, and develop scientists and technical leaders, fostering scientific excellence, accountability, and talent development.
- Translate customer, regulatory, and business needs into differentiated R&D programs that support formulation performance, manufacturability, and patient‑centric outcomes.
- Partner closely with Commercial, Marketing, Regulatory, Quality, and Operations teams to support customer engagements, technical reviews, and solution development for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers.
- Ensure all R&D activities comply with applicable regulatory expectations, pharmacopeial standards, and safety, quality, environmental, ethical, and sustainability requirements.
- Oversee portfolio prioritization, resource allocation, and execution across multiple R&D programs, balancing near‑term customer support with longer‑term innovation and platform development.
- Represent the Düsseldorf and Istanbul-based Life Sciences R&D organization in global R&D leadership forums, contributing to enterprise‑level strategy and capability development.
- Actively contribute to organizational goals by taking initiative, executing on goals, and focusing on performance and safety.
- Improve organizational capacity and capability through building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent, and using positive communication and influence.
This role is based onsite and requires occasional travel within the EMEA region and occasional global travel to support collaboration, customer engagement, and global R&D alignment.
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Advanced scientific degree (PhD strongly preferred) in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, or a related discipline.
- Extensive experience in industrial pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical R&D, including leadership of complex, regulated development programs.
- Demonstrated ability to lead managers and senior scientists, influence across a matrixed organization, and operate effectively in a global R&D and customer‑facing environment.
- Strong understanding of the intersection of formulation science, process development, regulatory expectations, and commercial impact.
- Professional working proficiency in English and German, including the ability to read, write, and communicate verbally in both languages.
Equal Opportunity & Data Privacy
Ashland is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to gender, age, disability, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law, in accordance with the German General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG).
Personal data submitted as part of the application process will be processed in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).
Ashland Privacy Notice is available on our website www.ashland.com/ link:
In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland LLC. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, personal care and pharmaceutical. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer.
At Ashland our vision is to be a leading, global specialty chemicals company whose inspired and engaged employees add value to all we touch. In fact our people, employees, customers and vendors define who we are. They are the driving force behind everything we do.
Not only do we value our customers but we value our employees, and we work to offer them a dynamic and challenging environment. We hold ourselves to high standards at Ashland, and we value integrity and honesty.
Ashland has a history of attracting the best people and keeping them. The reasons are simple: industry competitive salary and benefits, pay-for-performance incentive plans and a diverse work environment where employees feel challenged and valued. People come to Ashland and stay. As a growing Fortune 500 specialty chemicals company, we offer opportunities for development and advancement throughout our global organization. Our values define who we are and what we care about as a company. If you are looking for a relationship with a company instead of simply a job, this may be a great fit.
Ashland is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled/Gender Identity/Sexual Orientation.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. NOTE: We do not accept resumes from external staffing agencies or independent recruiters for any of our openings unless we have a signed recruiting agreement in place to fill a specific position.