Formulation Scientist — Two-Piece Capsules

Company Overview

SMP Nutra is a private label dietary supplement contract manufacturer in Largo, Florida. Since 2019 we've built and produced formulas for retail and DTC supplement brands out of a GMP-compliant facility, across a wide range of ingredients and SKUs. We are owner-operated, and formulation decisions are made by people who understand the science behind them - without a committee.

Role Summary

This role owns two-piece hard capsule formulation end to end - from a client's target profile to a validated formula running on the encapsulator. You'll develop new formulas, reformulate existing ones, run bench and pilot trials, and carry your own work through scale-up and technology transfer to Production. Because we're a contract manufacturer, the project volume and ingredient variety are considerably higher than a brand-side R&D seat: botanicals, amino acids, vitamins and minerals, probiotics, standardized extracts, across many concurrent projects. You'll work alongside our formulation leadership and partner closely with the Quality and Production teams.

This is a capsule-focused role by design. Two-piece hard capsules only - no softgels, liquid-filled capsules, gummies, or topicals. If you want to go deep on powder science and encapsulation rather than spread thin across dosage forms, that's the point of this position.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop two-piece hard capsule formulations from concept to commercial production, including excipient selection, blend optimization, and encapsulation parameter development for both gelatin and HPMC shells.
• Characterize raw materials and finished blends - bulk and tapped density, Carr's index and Hausner ratio, particle size distribution, moisture content, and flow behavior - and use that data to set capsule size and target fill weight rather than working backward from a guess.
• Select and justify excipients (diluents, glidants, lubricants, anticaking agents) against fill weight targets, capsule size constraints, label claim overage, and client requirements such as vegan, non-GMO, or allergen-free.
• Execute bench and pilot trial batches, then confirm formulas on production encapsulation equipment - dosing disc and tamping pin settings, machine speed, weight variation, and capsule lock and seal integrity.
• Run and interpret disintegration and dissolution testing per applicable USP methods, and troubleshoot failures including gelatin cross-linking, over-lubrication, and hygroscopic active behavior.
• Design and monitor accelerated and long-term stability programs; establish shelf life and expiry dating from the resulting data.
• Evaluate incoming raw materials alongside Quality - COA review, identity and potency, specification setting, and support for vendor qualification.
• Author and revise formulation specifications, master formulas, and master batch records that hold up to 21 CFR Part 111 audit scrutiny.
• Lead technology transfer to Production: scale-up from bench to full commercial batch size, blend time and equipment train selection, in-process controls, and clear operator-facing instructions.
• Troubleshoot production issues on the floor - segregation, weight variation, bridging and ratholing, capsule breakage, sticking, and yield loss - and close the loop by correcting the formula or process.
• Work with QA on deviations, investigations, CAPA, and change control connected to formulation or specification changes.
• Reformulate existing SKUs in response to ingredient supply disruption, cost pressure, or client-driven substitutions without compromising label claim or stability.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on formulation experience with solid oral dosage forms - dietary supplement, nutraceutical, or pharmaceutical - including direct work on two-piece capsules. We're open to both mid-level and senior candidates; the range below reflects that.
• Practical command of powder behavior: density, flow, particle size, blend uniformity, and segregation risk, and how each drives capsule size and fill weight decisions.
• Direct experience running or supporting encapsulation equipment (tamping pin or dosator style), including troubleshooting weight variation and machine-side issues.
• Working knowledge of 21 CFR Part 111 and cGMP requirements, and comfort using USP monographs and general chapters as working references.
• Demonstrated ability to write master batch records, specifications, and formulation documentation that survive audit.
• BS in Food Science, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nutrition, or a related field - or equivalent hands-on formulation experience. We weight what you've actually formulated over where you studied, and candidates who came up through production or the lab are encouraged to apply.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience formulating in both gelatin and HPMC/vegetarian capsules, including the disintegration differences between them.
• Work with difficult ingredient classes: botanical and standardized extracts, probiotics with CFU overage, hygroscopic aminos, oily or low-density powders.
• Familiarity with common encapsulator platforms (Syntegon/Bosch GKF, IMA/Zanasi, MG2, or similar).
• Contract manufacturing or private label background - comfort carrying many concurrent projects with different clients and specifications.
• Experience with overage calculation and label claim compliance across shelf life.
• Exposure to third-party certification programs (NSF, Informed Sport, organic, kosher, halal) and the formulation constraints they impose.
• Stability protocol design and shelf-life justification experience.

Compensation and Benefits

$85,000 – $115,000 annually
Based on experience and demonstrated capsule formulation depth. Mid-level candidates should expect the lower portion of the range; candidates who can independently own development through tech transfer should expect the upper portion.

Benefits include:

• Health insurance
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• [Confirm: retirement plan / 401(k) and any match]
• [Confirm: dental, vision, life]
• [Confirm: product allowance, continuing education or conference budget]

How to Apply

Send your resume to [insert application email] with the subject line "Capsule Formulator." Along with it, include a short note - a few paragraphs is plenty - describing two or three capsule formulations you developed, what made them difficult, and how you solved it. We read those closely; they tell us more than a resume does.

Qualified candidates will hear from us directly. The first conversation is a technical one, with the people you'd actually be working with.