Summary: This position will oversee the lab-scale fermentation laboratory.Primary function of this position is to oversee all activities in the Fermentation Laboratory ensuring exceptional performance, clear reporting, sound science, and continued innovation.The position also requires collaboration with the Industrial Fermentation and R&D Teams. This role requires exceptional sterile technique and the critical thinking necessary to improve methods and processes, and design new experiments. This position currently has two direct reports.
Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
- Work with management, area leaders, and stakeholders to plan, organize, and execute experiments in the areas of industrial scale-up trials, media optimization, process prototyping, and R&D.
- Collaborating with department leaders in Fermentation and R&D teams on new method development.
- Troubleshooting, maintenance, and basic repairs on benchtop bioreactors and DSP equipment.
- Oversee the preparation, monitoring, processing, and analysis of benchtop fermentations. This may include delegating or personally executing media preparation, probe calibration, pH adjustment, batch sterilization/autoclaving, down-stream processing, data analysis, reporting, presenting, etc.
- Maintain a strategic work plan to maximize lab output.
- Train and manage junior employees.
- Develop and monitor KPIs for the Fermentation Lab group.
- Digitization of Data and Interdepartmental Reporting.
- Oversee development of SOP’s and project reports.
- Drive success in both independent and team projects.
- Maintain a clean and organized work area.
- Maintain impeccable notes and logs.
- Foster a culture of safety, teamwork, and innovation.
- Assist with general lab duties as necessary.
Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Mechanical aptitude to disassemble, reassemble, and troubleshoot benchtop bioreactors.
- Extensive experience with benchtop bioreactors growing bacteria, preferably Bacillus.Experience with spores, spray drying, and TFF preferred.
- Experience with scale up and scale down optimizations.
- Ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize workload.
- Ability to lead a small team.
- Motivation to learn processes, grow, and participate in fermentation department development.
Strong technical skills and good mechanical aptitude are necessary for the operation of benchtop bioreactors. Understanding of process control automation, equipment, and their impact on bacteria metabolism and lifecycle is necessary. Daily interactions with diverse teams throughout the company requires strong interpersonal skills. This is a hands-on scale-up lab role.
Education and/or Experience: BS in Biology/Microbiology + 6 yrs Fermentation Experience
Language Skills: Ability to read and comprehend scientific papers. Ability to write detailed correspondence to capture both technical detail and big-picture implications. Ability to author and oversee the authorship of detailed reporting of laboratory activities. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization. Ability to collaborate with international colleagues at the parent company. Proficiency in French is a plus.
Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, scientific notation, and decimals. Ability to compute and effectively analyze large complex datasets and present them graphically.
Computer Skills: To perform this job to a valued degree of success, an individual should have a strong knowledge of Microsoft office tools such as Excel, Word, and Outlook. Familiarity with ELN/LIMS preferred.
Reasoning Ability: Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form. Must be able to analyze results from the laboratory and judge if they fall outside the expected range for the experiment’s hypothesis. When outliers occur, ability to determine their importance and how to proceed.
Supervisory Responsibilities: This position has two direct reports.Requires ability to train, motivate, and mentor.
Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, climb, use hands to touch, handle, feel, and reach. The employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee must lift up to 50 pounds on a seldom basis. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus.
Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is sometimes exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; small moving mechanical parts; fumes or airborne particles; caustic chemicals; The employee is rarely exposed to extreme cold in the cryogenic freezer. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
