EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

At AustinPx our greatest assets are our employees. Each month, we'll feature one of our valued team members in the Employee Spotlight.

Careers

Employee Spotlight

Professional Headshots - Dustin Meyer Photography

Sofia Figueroa

Sofia Figueroa, Associate Scientist

“I joined the team at AustinPx to get experience in the pharmaceutical industry and learn about the processes they don’t teach you in school. With KinetiSol, our innovative Amorphous Dispersion Technology, I was able to be a part of something extremely rare and game-changing for the scientific community. At AustinPx I have the opportunity to transform complex drug challenges into innovative solutions by developing and analyzing new amorphous solid dispersions. Using advanced techniques like dissolution, DSC, and HPLC analysis, I ensure our formulations meet the unique needs of each client. The ever-changing nature of my work, combined with the chance to see my ideas come to life in the lab, makes every day both challenging and rewarding."

Collin Burger

Collin Burger, Sr. Director, Business Development

"I have always been passionate about making a difference in the pharmaceutical industry by supporting the development of innovative medications. In my role at AustinPx, I connect with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to support their development of life-saving therapeutics. I do this by assisting their CMC teams in streamlining the path to delivery of these treatments to patients. My job involves assessing development and manufacturing challenges and helping to provide efficient solutions. Collaborating with our talented team and contributing to the advancement of the game-changing KinetiSol technology make my work especially rewarding."

Alex Yousefian

Alex Yousefian, Automation Engineer Manager

"As an engineer, I handle everything from implementing hardware and software solutions to supporting manufacturing and managing databases. My daily tasks include support for the pharmaceutics/manufacturing, commissioning equipment, database management, data integrity, and software development. What excites me most is the fast-paced environment of working with groundbreaking technology alongside a dynamic team. Ultimately, it's the opportunity to tackle challenging problems with a lasting impact that drives me forward each day. Being involved in the growth of Kinetisol technology as we implement it for new customers and applications continually inspires me. Further, solving complex problems that I know are going to be challenging, but when accomplished, will have a huge, lasting impact, keeps me passionate about my role at AustinPx."

Hannah Reynolds

Hannah Reynolds, Senior Program Manager

"I joined AustinPx because they have a great team and are working to commercialize KinetiSol, a novel technology likely to disrupt the pharmaceutical development industry. I could not pass up on an opportunity like that! Now that I have experienced the impact of KinetiSol, I am more convinced of its importance in the future of drug development. I love working in pharma specifically because of the impact I get to have on patients. One of my purposes in life is to alleviate suffering in the world, and helping our clients develop new drugs for clinical trial means more shots-on-goal for people in need. I enjoy having the ability to combine my passion for science with my expertise in project management to accelerate these life changing drug candidates to patients.”

Danielle Del Bosque

Danielle Del Bosque, Quality Control Chemist

"I joined the QC group just a quick year after graduating from UT with my bachelor’s in Biochemistry, where I’d worked in research on organo-metallic synthesis of potential anti-cancer drug candidates. During that time, I experienced the scope of the solubility problem, as it affected almost every stage of our projects from synthesis to characterization to biological assay. When I got the opportunity to work at AustinPx, whose entire mission is to help developers realize the full potential of drug-candidates overcome obstacles with solubility and bioavailability, I was so excited to contribute to something I truly believe will change the world. The next-generation capability of Kinetisol renders a wide array of pharmaceutical actives amorphous dispersions that likely otherwise would be infeasible for medicinal use. Kinetisol’s versatility, as well as the environmentally conscious nature of the process itself dramatically increases the potential library of novel chemical entities for use as pharmaceuticals. This, alongside the strides we can make in leading the way to sustainability in drug development and manufacturing will revolutionize our arsenal against both pathology and the climate crisis, and that is incredibly inspiring to me."

Madison McGrady

Madison McGrady, Process Engineer

"I started working for AustinPx as a research and development intern the summer leading up to my final year of undergrad. My experience as an intern was incredibly formative, as I was continually challenged and given opportunities to learn. It was impossible for me to imagine the start of my full-time career anywhere other than at AustinPx. Now, as a process engineer, my roles include managing process and development and scale-up activities in collaboration with the formulation and analytical development teams, participating in process technical transfer of manufacturing processes, and traveling to third-party CDMOs to oversee process transfer and manufacturing activities. In my role, I am constantly encouraged to think outside the box and explore various avenues to optimize outcomes. While I am passionate about what I do, ultimately the company culture is what drew me back to AustinPx. I believe that the people make the place, and that’s why I returned full-time and remain here as an employee today. Each day, I find inspiration from the patients whose lives we have the potential to forever change through the work we do at AustinPx. I look forward to my future at AustinPx, where I’m surrounded by brilliant and accomplished individuals who motivate me to work hard, learn, and grow every day."

Marshall Cisneros

Marshall Cisneros, Formulations Team Lead

"I was hired by AustinPx in 2012, when it was just getting started as Dispersol Technologies. Although I have worn many hats during my time at AustinPx, my main roles here are supervising ongoing formulation and process development projects, scheduling tasks with my team, all while keeping the formulations labs in a ready state. What I love about my job are the people. Everyone has their own special niche making each of them a great asset to the company as well as each being a valuable adviser to me. While I have been at AustinPx for over 10 years now, every year has brought something new to the table, which has taught me to adapt and stay ready for whatever may come my way. This has kept me constantly challenged and given me many opportunities to grow."

Dan Russell

Dan Russell, Mechanical Design Manager

“I have always enjoyed problem solving, and now, as I watch my son grow, I am reminded about how much more I have to learn. Finding a job that continued to challenge me was very important, and that is what AustinPx offers me. I joined the AustinPx team because I found the prospect of being able to jump right in and start creating new equipment with our technology very appealing. At AustinPx, I develop and support the equipment that utilizes the company’s core technology. Each day that I come into work, I am given a new project or task that poses its own unique challenges that are fun to solve. The variety of the projects that I have been involved in has allowed me to develop a new set of skills as well as enhance existing ones. I am so thankful to work alongside such a great group of people, both intradepartmental and company-wide, that share my passion for continued learning and solving complex problems!”

Marilyn Walewangko

Marilyn Walewangko, Senior Staff Accountant

"I joined the AustinPx team because I saw huge potential for personal and professional growth. Prior to accepting my role as a senior staff accountant, I performed a lot of research on AustinPx’s culture, because a sense of belonging, employee morale, and job satisfaction is very important to me. I noticed right away that there were a lot of long-term employees at AustinPx - which speaks volumes about working in a place where people want to be a part of for the long term! After just a few months with AustinPx, I immediately felt like I would be here for a long run. AustinPx has a great group of people and a great work-life balance. There is unlimited room for growth and I look forward to continuing to expand my knowledge and skills in this industry. I really enjoy collaborating with my fellow team members, meeting professional targets, helping others, and challenging myself. Outside of work, I am inspired by travel, and taking time to completely disconnect, refresh my mind, and make memorable memories with the family."

Devin Sarkady

Devin Sarkady, Manufacturing Manager

"Like everyone else here, I wear many hats. In addition to managing the day-to-day activities of AustinPx’s GMP manufacturing programs, I oversee shipping and sourcing of controlled and uncontrolled raw materials for Operations. I also play a critical role in transferring and scaling up processes between Pharmaceutics and Manufacturing. What I love most about my job is the never-ending supply of challenges. It keeps my mind sharp and allows me to constantly learn new skills, and thus grow as a person. I joined AustinPx because my previous employer moved to California. I was thinking about moving back to the Northeast where I’m originally from and had offers to work with a several biotech companies. A former colleague who had joined AustinPx, reached out and asked if I would be interested in interviewing. I jumped at the opportunity! Joining AustinPx gave me the opportunity to work with some amazing people and to continue working in my chosen field while remaining in the area I love. So it was a win-win. After nine years with AustinPx, I continue to be inspired. I look forward to helping the company grow and to continuing to expand my understanding of drug product manufacturing, scale up and process optimization. "

Danny Davis

Danny Davis, Associate Principal Scientist, TX Licensed Pharmacist

"During the last 2 years of my Ph.D. I had the opportunity to be an intern at AustinPx and work alongside the pharmaceutics group. In addition to the welcoming company culture, the opportunity to overcome bioavailability challenges for a range of drugs using their next-generation KinetiSol technology is why I joined the AustinPx team. I now work as a formulation scientist enabling the delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs by the KinetiSol technology and other solubility enhancement techniques, when appropriate. I love the ability to work with various clients and the task of solving some of the most challenging bioavailability problems in our industry. Each project's uniqueness requires me to expand my knowledge set and skills to apply the most efficient and effective approach; this continually motivates me to develop as a scientist. AustinPx allows me the opportunity to impact more patients than I could have ever imagined by allowing me to offer formulations solutions on a myriad of projects that enable drugs to progress through the clinical and, ultimately, approval."

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