Principal Formulation Scientist Life Scientific | Dublin (Hybrid)

About Life Scientific

In crop protection, formulation is where ambition meets reality.

An active ingredient may be proven. A concept may look strong on paper. But if the formulation doesn't perform - consistently, safely, and at scale - nothing moves.

Life Scientific is a science company operating at the heart of a $250 billion global crop protection market. Founded in 1996 on the campus of University College Dublin, we've spent nearly three decades mastering the art of reverse engineering - taking off-patent crop protection products apart, understanding them molecule for molecule, and rebuilding them to deliver identical performance at a better ROI for farmers and distributors worldwide.

We operate across 20+ countries, with almost 100 people across 12 specialist divisions. Backed by InVivo, Europe's largest agricultural cooperative, we combine the pace of a scale-up with real scientific depth.

We don't innovate for curiosity's sake. We innovate to deliver products that work in farmers' fields - reliably and commercially.

As our innovation pipeline grows, formulation excellence is becoming a critical differentiator.

The Opportunity

This role exists for one reason:

To make sure our products don't just work in theory - they work in reality.

As Principal Formulation Scientist, you will be the senior technical authority behind our formulation-led innovation strategy.

You will take complex agrochemical challenges - rooted in the realities of crop protection chemistry - and translate them into robust, manufacturable, scalable formulations.

You will solve the hard problems:

Solubility and compatibility across complex active ingredient combinations
Stability under stress conditions relevant to global agrochemical markets
Scale-up sensitivity and manufacturing variability
Regulatory constraints specific to crop protection product registration
Performance requirements driven by agronomic field realities

You will design with the end in mind. Not just efficacy - but manufacturability, shelf life, user safety and commercial viability.

At this level, you won't just run experiments. You will set the technical direction, mentor scientists around you, and build the formulation platforms that become a lasting competitive advantage for Life Scientific.

This Role Is For You If You…

You've spent your career in agrochemicals or crop protection - and you're done doing incremental work.

You understand that agrochemical formulation is its own discipline. The regulatory environment, the field performance demands, the complexity of active ingredient combinations - these are things you've lived, not just read about.

You instinctively ask:

Will this survive a global supply chain and the conditions it faces in the field?
Are we building something robust - or something fragile?
What happens under agrochemical stress conditions?
Is this formulation strategy genuinely differentiated - or are we just reformulating a known solution?

You enjoy solving messy physical chemistry problems in a crop protection context. You think in systems - not just ingredients. You don't overengineer. You converge.

You understand that good formulation design in agrochemicals reduces regulatory risk and commercial headaches later.

And you're energised by the idea of building something - platforms, knowledge, capability - that outlasts any single project.

What You'll Do

Lead & Design High-Performance Agrochemical Formulations

Lead the design and optimisation of formulations across multiple innovation pillars, drawing on deep agrochemical formulation expertise
Translate biological and agronomic requirements into clear formulation design criteria grounded in crop protection realities
Solve complex challenges including solubility, stability, incompatibility and delivery performance specific to agrochemical applications
Apply hypothesis-driven experimentation and targeted stress testing to converge on robust, field-ready solutions

Build for Scale & Manufacturability

Design with manufacturing robustness and scalability in mind from the earliest stages
Anticipate and mitigate scale-up risks unique to agrochemical formulation types (SC, EC, EW, CS and beyond)
Support smooth technical transfer into Development and Manufacturing
Reduce late-stage formulation failures through disciplined early testing

Operate at the Centre of Innovation Delivery

Collaborate closely with Biology, Analytical, Regulatory, Portfolio and Manufacturing teams
Support stage-gate reviews with clear technical rationale and risk assessment
Conduct technical diligence of external partners and novel technologies
Ensure formulation data is robust, structured and transfer-ready

Build Capability & Reusable Platforms

Capture formulation learnings to build reusable platforms across the agrochemical portfolio
Mentor and develop junior scientists within the formulation team
Identify repeat failure modes and eliminate them systematically
Strengthen Life Scientific's formulation capability as a long-term competitive advantage

What You Bring

You bring deep agrochemical formulation expertise - and the practical execution discipline to deliver.

Essential:

MSc or PhD in Formulation Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or a related discipline
8+ years' hands-on formulation development experience, gained specifically within crop protection or agrochemicals - this is non-negotiable
Deep expertise in liquid and solid agrochemical formulation types (SC, EC, EW, CS, WG and others)
Proven track record in stability testing, troubleshooting and manufacturing transfer within an agrochemical context
Strong working knowledge of crop protection regulatory requirements for formulated products
Experience operating at a senior or principal level, with evidence of technical leadership and mentoring

Desirable but not essential:

Experience with nano-enabled systems, capsule suspensions or controlled-release technologies in an agrochemical setting
Exposure to hybrid chemical–biological formulations
Familiarity with reverse-engineering or reformulation of off-patent agrochemical products
Experience contributing to agrochemical product registration dossiers

Intellectual rigour and agrochemical know-how matter more than chasing the latest buzzword technology.

What Success Looks Like

Within 24–36 months, you will have:

Delivered multiple robust, transfer-ready formulations into Development
Reduced late-stage formulation instability and scale-up failures
Built reusable formulation platforms that accelerate future agrochemical innovation
Established yourself as the go-to technical authority on formulation across the business
Developed junior scientists and raised the overall capability of the formulation team
Strengthened formulation as a core differentiator within Life Scientific's innovation model

Why Join Life Scientific?

Because here, formulation is not a support function. It's a strategic lever.

You will operate at the intersection of agrochemical science, biology and commercial reality - in a business that was built on the belief that formulation excellence is what separates a product that works in the lab from one that works in farmers' fields across 20+ countries.

You won't be buried in incremental reformulation work. You'll build differentiated crop protection products that move through Development and into global markets.

It won't be simple. But it will be meaningful.

And when a product performs - consistently, safely and at scale, in fields around the world - you'll know exactly why.

And that matters.

Principal Formulation Scientist - Agrochemical

Job Description