Biocatalysis Process Development Scientist — Scale-Up Leader

cascade-biocatalysts; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

You will partner with the founding team, own outcomes, and shape science and culture. Ideal candidates have industrial or CDMO biocatalysis experience and comfort balancing cost and performance.

Qualifications

• PhD or MS in biochemistry, chemical engineering, organic chemistry, or a related field with a strong biocatalysis or heterogeneous catalysis focus.
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in process development including scale up, continuous improvements and commercial biocatalysis development.
• Demonstrated ability to improve process performance against real commercial targets, including yield, cost, throughput, not just feasibility.
• Experience with techno‑economic modeling and process analytical tools.
• Familiarity with DOE‑driven development and comfort using data systematically to guide decisions.
• Experience working across disciplines, including protein engineering, analytical chemistry, and engineering, and translating between scientific and commercial priorities.
• Prior experience at a biocatalysis‑focused company, CDMO, or industrial process chemistry group strongly preferred.
• Comfort operating in an early‑stage environment with limited resources, ambiguity, and ambitious goals.

Responsibilities

• Own biocatalytic process development end‑to‑end, from initial hits to optimized ready‑to‑scale processes
• Run and optimize enzymatic reactions, driving process intensification by improving space‑time yield, reducing enzyme loading, extending catalyst lifetime, and lowering overall process costs
• Collaborate with our enzyme immobilization team to evaluate and implement biocatalyst formats
• Evaluate and implement new equipment and process analytical technology solutions
• Lead and grow a small process development team over time, mentoring junior scientists while maintaining a technical culture and standards
• Build and maintain techno‑economic models tracking key process metrics: E‑factor, PMI, catalyst cost contribution, and downstream processing implications
• Interface with protein engineering efforts, translating process bottlenecks into enzyme engineering targets and back‑integrating improved variants
• Contribute broadly across the organization: at this stage of the company, the most impactful team members bring their expertise to problems beyond their core scope
• Strong communication skills and ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, cross‑functional and dynamic environment across a variety of programs

Skills

Biocatalysis

Process development

Scale-up

Techno-economic modeling

Education

PhD or MS in biochemistry/chemical engineering

Tools

Process Analytical Technology

Job description

You will partner with the founding team, own outcomes, and shape science and culture. Ideal candidates have industrial or CDMO biocatalysis experience and comfort balancing cost and performance.