Fermentation Lead

ZymoChem is building a next-gen chemicals company to catalyze this disruption within the high performance materials and chemicals industries. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, ZymoChem has cracked the biological code to disrupt traditional fossil-based industries . We do this through our ability to rapidly engineer biology to develop high performance materials and chemicals. We embrace eco-friendly products and processes and work with sustainability driven consumers.

We are adding a Fermentation Lead to spearhead our new distinct Fermentation Team focused in the development of the company's proprietary carbon-conserving technology. This role is a career-defining opportunity to gain experience and skills with hiring & managing a small team along with directly contributing to the successful scaling of ZymoChem's first products to the commercial level. You will embrace opportunities to build out the Fermentation Team's capabilities & workflows with cutting-edge tools and techniques as well as establish consistent multi-disciplinary collaborations with other internal R&D groups, external partners, and CMOs. Through these challenges, you will also make a positive impact on the world in the battle against climate change.

Responsibilities

Using a hands-on player-coach approach, you will build a small team and do things like...

• Design and execute bench-scale high cell density microbial fermentations toward optimization of bioprocess parameters such as media formulation and expression development
• Perform benchmarking studies focused on understanding strain performance and meeting project goals centered around titer, production rate, and yield metrics
• Construct and validate high-throughput, plate-based fermentation workflows for screening/characterization purposes and bioprocess development
• Develop technologies and/or methods oriented around strain adaptation/evolution
• Optimization of fermentations and application of new technologies & strategies to accelerate and support scale-up efforts
• Collaborate internally with the Strain Engineering, Analytics, and Process Development & Scale-up Groups as well as externally with ZymoChem's partners to guide strain development, fermentation work plans, and scale-up efforts
• Establish a data management system to track fermentation-based data as well as implement statistical and computational analyses on large data sets
• Lead the expansion and maintenance of the company's fermentation capabilities: procurement of equipment, build-out, equipment troubleshooting & repair
• Work with CMOs to facilitate the successful scale-up of in-house fermentation processes from the bench to commercial levels.
  
  

Qualifications

• PhD or MS in Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Fermentation Science, or a related discipline
• 2-6+ years of industrial/startup experience working directly with lab-scale and/or pilot-scale fermentations
• Aptitude to lead various aspects of fermentation R&D such as media design, fed-batch & chemostats operations, microaerobic & anaerobic fermentations, strain evolution studies, scale-down fermentation technologies (BioLector, Ambr), and high-throughput, automated culture development
• Experience with implementing design of experiment (DoE) methods for strain screening/characterization and bioprocess development
• Experience with biosynthetic pathways, recombinant protein expression and small molecule production.
• Demonstrated success working both individually and cross-disciplinary to balance multiple independent experiments/projects
• Familiarity with various bioreactor systems and control software; fermentation-related accessory technologies; and statistics, data analysis tools, and data management software
• Ability and willingness to work occasionally on weekends and/or outside of normal business hours because...biology.
  
  

ZymoChem offers full-time employees a competitive base salary, benefits package, and a company culture that's collaborative, multidisciplinary, and committed to a big vision for positive impact. We seek candidates who are motivated by science and innovation and with a passion to push the boundaries of chemical and materials performance. If this sounds exciting, we want to hear from you.

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. ZymoChem may agree to sponsor an individual for an employment visa now or in the future if there is a shortage of individuals with particular skills for this job. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. This position is for our San Leandro, CA location in the vibrant East San Francisco Bay Area in the Gate 510 state-of-the-art facility with many nearby amenities. ZymoChem may agree to offer relocation assistance for this role.

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