Bioprocess Engineer

Recircle; Daresbury; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced Pension Scheme options after

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Recircle in the UK is seeking an experienced bioprocess engineer to help industrialise a unique bacterial bioprocess at its Sci-Tech Daresbury centre. You will work with biotechnology and rubber materials teams, refining performance and operating parameters from lab to pilot scale.

The role requires MSc/PhD in a relevant field, hands-on propagation in bioreactors, downstream processing, DoE and collaboration with external scale-up partners. A proactive, innovative mindset is essential.

Qualifications

• Degree at MSc or PhD level in a relevant bioprocess/biochemical/chemical engineering.
• Hands-on lab and pilot-scale experience with bacterial propagation.
• Experience with recombinant enzyme production and purification.
• Experience in downstream processing and unit operations.
• Knowledge of DoE and statistical process analysis.

Responsibilities

• Perform day-to-day bioprocess development across lab and pilot-scale.
• Design, operate and optimise propagation and enzyme production in bioreactors (E. coli and others).
• Develop downstream processing steps for rubber materials and product recovery.
• Characterise and optimise key bioprocess parameters (kLa, oxygen transfer, mixing, pH).
• Collect and analyse engineering data for scale-up and mass/energy balances.
• Support technology transfer to external scale-up partners.
• Collaborate with biotechnology team to translate insights into robust strategies.
• Support experimental plans and execution, keep daily records.
• Undertake training and development as needed.

Skills

Bacterial propagation

Bioreactors

Batch & fed-batch

Downstream processing

DoE

Molecular biology

Scale-up experience

ATEX operations

Team collaboration

Education

MSc or PhD in Bioprocess Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering with biotech focus

Job description

Recircle is a UK-based industrial biotechnology company focused on sustainable solutions for the waste producing rubber materials sector. Recircle has developed technologies that combine biotechnology with polymer chemistry and industrial process engineering to allow waste rubber to be reprocessed into high-quality materials for re-use in new rubber goods, creating a true circular economy solution for the world’s rubber waste.

Recircle is currently seeking to hire an experienced bioprocess engineer to join the company and help with the industrialisation of a unique bacterial bioprocess. The candidate will work closely with Recircle’s biotechnology and rubber materials teams at the company’s R&D centre at Sci-Tech Daresbury (Warrington area, UK) and external service providers across the UK and Europe to refine the performance and operating parameters of the process across the research and the scale up environment. The successful candidate will be a dynamic self-starter that shares our company values and aspiration for a world without waste.

Key responsibilities:

• Perform day-to-day bioprocess development work across laboratory and pilot-scale environments
• Design, operate, and optimise bacterial propagation and recombinant enzyme production processes (E. coli and other hosts) in bioreactors, including batch and fed-batch fermentation strategies.
• Develop, optimise and operate processing steps involving the application of enzymes to rubber materials, in batch and continuous systems and the subsequent downstream separation and recovery of products.
• Characterise, monitor, and optimise key bioprocess parameters (e.g. kLa, oxygen transfer and uptake rates, mixing, pH, dissolved oxygen, and feeding strategies).
• Collect, structure, and analyse the engineering data required to inform full scale-up activities, including mass and energy balances, reaction kinetics, and scale-up correlations.
• Support technology transfer of processes to external scale-up partners and service providers.
• Work closely with the biotechnology team to translate molecular biology and biochemistry insights into robust propagation and scale-up strategies.
• Support development of experimental plans and their execution
• Keep daily records of laboratory activities
• Undertake any necessary training and development

Key experience and qualifications:

• Degree (MSc or PhD) in Bioprocess Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering with a biotechnology focus, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience of bacterial propagation (E. coli or similar) in bioreactors using batch and fed-batch strategies, from bench to pilot scale, including recombinant systems involving induction, enzyme expression, and purification.
• Practical experience of downstream processing unit operations such as solid-liquid separation, filtration, centrifugation, washing, solvent processes and product recovery.
• Strong grasp of the fundamentals of biochemistry, including metabolism and how biological systems operate, carried through from propagation into downstream processing, with competence in molecular biology as it applies to propagation, induction systems and scale-up.
• Solid grounding in bioprocess engineering parameters and their measurement, including kLa, oxygen transfer rate, power input, and mixing characteristics.
• Proven ability to design experiments and generate engineering-grade data sets to inform process design at scale.
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex experimental data using statistical and computational tools.
• Effective communication and teamwork skills, with experience in multidisciplinary project environments.
• Experience of enzymatic processes applied to solid substrates such as polymers, biomass, or rubber.
• Experience working with external pilot plants, CDMOs, or other scale-up facilities.
• Familiarity with Design of Experiments (DoE) and statistical process analysis tools.
• Familiarity with ATEX rated operations
• Strong focus on innovation and a vibrant community of scientists from various educational and cultural backgrounds.
• Enhanced Pension Scheme options after 12 months service.
• Cycle to work scheme.

Remuneration:

• A competitive market salary will be offered to the successful candidate.