Job Description

Job Title: Microbial Fermentation, Sr., Principal, Scientist/ Engineer

Job Type: Permanent, Full-time

Work Schedule: Onsite, In Office

Sector: Alternative Energy

Location: San Diego, CA

NES Fircroft is a leading global technical recruitment company providing professional contract and permanent staff to a diverse world-wide client base within the energy industry. Our client, a pioneering start-up with innovative biotechnology that will create a sustainable pathway for alternative fuels , has a permanent opportunity for a Senior Scientist, Fermentation Team Lead to be based in San Diego, California.

Position Summary

Join a cutting-edge biotech company at the forefront of enzyme design for alternative fuel production. In this role, you will play a key part in developing and optimizing biocatalytic solutions that drive innovation in sustainable energy. Working alongside a team of top scientists and engineers, you will contribute to groundbreaking research and commercial-scale applications that push the boundaries of synthetic biology and fuel technology. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a mission-driven company shaping the future of energy.

The ideal candidate should have significant hands-on and leadership experience developing and optimizing aerobic microbial fermentation processes for enzyme production and cell-free biocatalytic production processes in lab-scale bioreactors.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead development of microbial fermentation and cell-free biocatalysis processes at lab scale.
• Design, build, and optimize aerobic fermentation processes for recombinant enzyme production using defined media.
• Optimize media composition, feeding strategies, seed trains, process setpoints, aeration strategies, and contamination control strategies.
• Quantify key metabolites using HPLC, GC, and other analytical techniques to construct and optimize process carbon balances.
• Evaluate microbial hosts and expression systems for enzyme production in collaboration with the Strain Engineering team.
• Establish and run DBTL (Design–Build–Test–Learn) experimental cycles aimed at improving enzyme titers and productivity.
• Investigate downstream operations including centrifugation, clarification, filtration, and dialysis for enzyme recovery.
• Design scalable cell-free enzyme-catalyzed processes across batch, fed-batch, and continuous regimes.
• Guide process optimization using analyte profiles and carbon flux analysis.
• Transfer processes to internal or external manufacturing teams.
• Mentor and train junior scientists/engineers.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with the Evolution Team on strain and expression improvements.
• Establish project management systems for internal communication, experiment planning, and data sharing.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Molecular Biology, orequivalent area, from an accredited university.
• Minimum of 3 years working in industry with experience performing strain and metabolic engineering for enzyme production in diverse microbial hosts.
• Deep technical knowledge of recombinant enzyme expression problems and strategies to improve enzyme expression.
• Experience establishing and validating plate, flask, and bioreactor enzyme production experiments.
• Experiencing implementing, organizing, and executing project management strategies.
• Experience leading scientific teams.
• Additional experience to support key responsibilities above.

Working Conditions/ Environment:

• Able to work 5 days a week onsite.
• Able to work in a BSL1 laboratory with hazardous materials including flammables, corrosives, and general health hazards.
• Travel up to 10%.
• Eagerness and appetite to be a team player and leader working in an exciting startup environment.

Why work here

• Growth in a Fast-Paced Environment – Join a pioneering, growing start-up at the forefront of synthetic biology, fuel innovation, and sustainability.
• Be Part of Cutting-Edge Biotech Innovation – Be part of a cutting-edge biotech company engineering enzymes to revolutionize alternative fuel.
• Mission-Driven Impact – Help drive the transition to cleaner, more efficient energy sources by developing breakthrough biotechnologies.
• Collaborative & Inclusive Culture – Work in a team-oriented environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Work with Industry Experts – Engage with top-tier scientists, researchers, and business leaders at the forefront of alternative fuel innovation.
• Competitive Compensation & Benefits – Enjoy market-leading salary packages, comprehensive health benefits, 401(k) match, and more.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a pioneering start-up with innovative biotechnology that will create a sustainable pathway for alternative fuels. The successful applicant will receive a competitive compensation package, annual bonus, comprehensive medical benefits, PTO, holidays, and more. Candidate must have authorization to work in the U.S. without a visa or ongoing work permit. Relocation assistance within the US is available.

For more information on this opportunity or others, please contact Mishu Ventura.

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