Senior Fermentation Scientist: Upstream Process Lead

Valent U.S.A. LLC; Libertyville (IL); On-site; USD 124,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage from day one

401(k) with company contributions

Discretionary bonus

Job summary

Sumitomo Biorational Company, headquartered in Libertyville, IL, is seeking a lead for upstream process development. You will conduct fermentation experiments in lab- and pilot-scale bioreactors to evaluate microbial strain candidates, collaborating with fermentation scientists, downstream engineers, and data colleagues to advance sustainable BioAgriculture solutions.

The role involves mentoring junior scientists, operating pilot-scale equipment, and coordinating technology transfer between R&D

Qualifications

• Expertise in culturing microorganisms, including filamentous fungi, to increase metabolite productivity using aseptic techniques.
• Experience training junior scientists in the use of fermentation equipment and execution of process development experiments.
• High degree of competency in the Microsoft Office 365 suite and statistical analysis software.
• Strong communication, presentation, and listening skills in cross-functional teams.
• Willingness to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion.
• Able to lift up to 25 lbs.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement upstream processes to optimize strain performance of bacterial and fungal microorganisms to produce microbial products, metabolites and proteins.
• Mentor junior team members by training safe and proper use of fermentation and analytical equipment required to execute process development and improvement experiments.
• Provide guidance to research associates and support their professional development.
• Take primary responsibility for the operation and troubleshooting of pilot scale fermentation equipment.
• Design scale up and scale down experiments to execute seamless technology transfer between Research and Manufacturing operations.
• Build strong relationships with supporting research departments and deliver fermentations on time or ahead of schedule to biology, downstream processing, formulations, and product development teams.
• Travel to manufacturing site to launch new fermentation processes and troubleshoot current commercial processes.
• Maintain and further develop collaborative relationship with the pilot and production fermentation team at the manufacturing site.
• Execute sophisticated process development experiments utilizing statistical tools to ensure process robustness.
• Work alongside data scientists, IT, and engineering to build and maintain a digital system to organize and archive run data and electronic batch records.
• Maintain and update laboratory data and documents including electronic lab notebook and SOPs.
• Conduct all work in strict compliance with all applicable safety requirements, containment requirements, standards operating procedures and/or guidelines while maintaining a clean and orderly workspace.
• Work both independently and with interdisciplinary research teams while maintaining a positive and collaborative environment.

Skills

Culturing microorganisms

Aseptic techniques

Bioreactor systems

Fermentation science

Education

Degree in Fermentation Science / related field

Job description

Sumitomo Biorational Company, headquartered in Libertyville, IL, is seeking a lead for upstream process development. You will conduct fermentation experiments in lab- and pilot-scale bioreactors to evaluate microbial strain candidates, collaborating with fermentation scientists, downstream engineers, and data colleagues to advance sustainable BioAgriculture solutions.

The role involves mentoring junior scientists, operating pilot-scale equipment, and coordinating technology transfer between R&D