Senior Fermentation & Recovery Scientist (300 L Scale)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 96,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous paid time off

Culture of belonging

Job summary

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division is seeking a Senior Research Associate to join the ABPDU, supporting bench and pilot-scale fermentation, recovery, and purification of biofuels and biochemicals, scaling from shake flasks to 300 L.

The role involves operating bioreactors and recovery equipment, documenting results, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, and contributing to process development with emphasis on safety and SOP adherence.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years in fermentation, bioprocessing, recovery, biochemical engineering, microbiology, or related fields.
• Hands-on experience with bioreactors and downstream processing equipment, including scale-up.
• Ability to execute established SOPs and batch records with accurate documentation.
• Proficiency with spreadsheets, presentations, and shared file-management systems.
• Ability to troubleshoot routine lab/process equipment and follow up with guidance when needed.
• Strong organizational and communication skills for interdisciplinary teams.
• Must be able to frequently lift up to 50 pounds.

Responsibilities

• Execute fermentation process development and scale-up activities.
• Perform hands-on fermentation and recovery operations from bench to 300 L pilot scale.
• Prepare media, reagents, equipment, and batch records.
• Operate bioreactors, manage inoculation, sampling, feeding, and process monitoring.
• Operate and troubleshoot bioreactors, centrifuges, homogenizers, filtration systems, and chromatography equipment.
• Perform recovery and purification processes including centrifugation and chromatography.
• Operate analytical tools (HPLC, GC, MS) and other process-monitoring systems.
• Maintain experimental records, analyze data, and communicate results.

Skills

Fermentation

Bioprocessing

Bioreactors

Process scale-up

SOP adherence

Documentation

Data analysis

Team collaboration

BSL-2 lab

Education

Advanced Degree

Tools

HPLC

GC

Mass spectrometry

Chromatography equipment

Centrifuges

Job description

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division is seeking a Senior Research Associate to join the ABPDU, supporting bench and pilot-scale fermentation, recovery, and purification of biofuels and biochemicals, scaling from shake flasks to 300 L.

The role involves operating bioreactors and recovery equipment, documenting results, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, and contributing to process development with emphasis on safety and SOP adherence.