With over 100,000 employees worldwide, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s mission is to enable their customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. They support customers in accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, and improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies. They currently have 500 colleagues working at the company’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) development and manufacturing campus in Currabinny, Co. Cork.
Here, Conor Horgan, Development Chemist, Craig Conroy, Analytical Development Chemist, and Sarah Kelly, Process Engineer, outline what they love about working there.
I have always been passionate about chemistry. After school I went to St John’s College to study Science and Laboratory Techniques and then on to Munster Technological University where I graduated with an Honours degree in Analytical Chemistry with Quality Assurance in 2022. I joined Thermo Fisher as an Analytical Development Chemist after I graduated.
I always loved maths, so it was a process of elimination. I went into general engineering in first year in college as a taster for everything. I liked chemistry when I was in school, and I knew I wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry — creating products that are making a difference by helping patients.
I’ve always had a curious mind, fascinated by how things worked. Science was something I always had a genuine interest in when I was growing up and knew this was something that I wanted to pursue, but it was my chemistry teacher that really sparked the interest for me.
I really wanted to work somewhere where there was a strong purpose. In our Cork campus, we are developing and manufacturing pharmaceutical products that change lives, treating conditions such as breast cancer, psoriasis, HIV, Parkinson’s disease and many more.
The variety of the work at Thermo Fisher really appealed to me. Some of my peers in other companies might work on a handful of products over the course of their career while I’m working on several a year. There are roles to suit everyone at Thermo Fisher, with people from all over the world working here. For graduates making the transition from university to a manufacturing site there are a lot of supports on offer here as well, including training, mentorship and career development services.
During my PhD I particularly liked the balance of research and lab-based work. I was keen to find a role which maintained that balance. I knew that I wanted to work somewhere where no two days were the same and think that’s what I enjoy most about working at Thermo Fisher. From interacting with customers, collaborating with team members and developing small molecule drugs it really is such an interesting role.
There’s a strong focus on research and development in our work, we are making Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) that have the potential to treat everything from breast cancer or diabetes. I never thought I would be working on products that could have a huge impact on so many people in such a positive way. It’s really rewarding to see such life-changing drugs being developed and scaled up right here in Cork.
There’s something new to learn every day, with new challenges to solve — you never know what your workday will bring!
: I get a real sense of enjoyment when I see a project that I have worked on from the beginning ultimately progress onto plant for large scale manufacturing. We get to witness a product go from development in small round bottomed flasks in the Process Development lab, to 20L production in our scale-up lab and onto reliable manufacture at commercial scale, and I think the whole team feels a sense of achievement. Knowing that our work will ultimately help people who need these medicines is the most satisfying element of what we do.
The scale at Thermo Fisher is really inspiring — we’ve got over 90 chemists and process engineers working in our laboratories and production facilities. Being able to see such a variety of projects has allowed me to gain a well-rounded knowledge in a relatively short space of time. It’s been a rewarding start to my career.
It’s been great to see the push to improve our overall sustainability on-site. The site wind turbine generates 24% of the site electrical energy, with all other electricity coming from green sources. We also have a target to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and to be net-zero by 2050. We’re also implementing new ways of working across the different functions, looking at where we can reduce waste and introduce greener materials.
Never stop learning. Pharma is one of those industries where we are all constantly learning as new technology and methods emerge. While senior team members have a lot of insight to share with those starting out, the learning is two-way and new recruits are encouraged to share perspectives. I think that’s why a lot of graduates enjoy working at Thermo Fisher — they can make a real contribution right from the start.
Make connections early — reach out to those already working in your desired industry. You would be surprised at how many people are willing to give advice and point you in the right direction.
There’s no such thing as a stupid question — particularly when you are transitioning from being a student to industry. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and use the resources and team members available to you to help make the process easier.
: Make sure you enjoy variety — there’s always something new happening on site. You definitely need a willingness to learn if you work here, as well as the ability to multitask. The important thing is to just get stuck in — being able to work as part of the team and being able to communicate with people is key.
: Be willing to learn — I find myself learning something new every day. Even though I have plenty of qualifications on paper the learning never stops and it keeps things interesting, I guess that’s the beauty of chemistry. There’s always new things to learn and you definitely see that first hand here.
A love of science, creativity, an aptitude for problem solving and the ability for collaborating with others.
Being able to work both collaboratively and independently is a huge bonus. While there is a lot of teamwork and room for collaboration, there is quite a bit of independent work required when it comes to experiments and report writing.
Open, effective communication with your colleagues and customers is really important. Establishing those strong relationships makes everything easier, whether it’s overcoming an issue or collaborating on a new approach.
: Take opportunities to talk to those further on in their careers. At Thermo Fisher, we have the ability to link up with a mentor and that has been invaluable in planning my own career development.
To discover the career opportunities available at Thermo Fisher, visit their website.
