Head of Bioprocess/Bioprocess Engineering Lead

Head of Bioprocess/Bioprocess Engineering Lead

(Final title dependent on core technical strengths)

Location: Boulder, CO

Reports To: Sr. Director of Applied Biology

About the Company

Our client is a company reinventing how the world sources critical minerals — using protein-based chemistry to extract rare earth elements and other essential materials from challenging feedstocks with unmatched selectivity. By dramatically reducing the cost and environmental impact of mineral separation, this company is making it possible to unlock new sources of supply for 21st-century technologies. As global demand accelerates, securing these materials has become one of the most urgent challenges facing U.S. competitiveness and national security. Backed by top investors and government partners, the team is growing fast and hiring mission-driven scientists and engineers to help scale their platform and transform the future of mining.

About the Role

The Head of Bioprocess/Bioprocess Engineering Lead will develop and implement fermentation and down-stream process optimizations for the production of engineered proteins, including implementing optimizations on expression workflows to enhance target protein production and purification. The candidate will have expertise in industrial fermentation of Bacillus and microbial systems and will work within a multidisciplinary team to execute on multi-scale approaches to identify process improvements and develop robust protocols for transfer between internal and external groups. The individual will join a group of collaborative scientists with diverse skill sets and must display strong communication and critical thinking skills with a rigorous approach to science.

Key Responsibilities

● Lead fermentation strategy and execution

○ Lead the strategy from design through optimization of bioprocesses to support bench (tank) to industrial protein production and manage contract outsourcing.

○ Set strategy for new technologies that improve performance and/or decrease cost of goods.

○ Establish processes for management and validation of methods transfer between internal teams and external manufacturers.

○ Track and report process optimizations for workflow and production cost efficiency that meet company goals.

● Build and lead the fermentation team

○ Develop the fermentation team

○ Lead from the bench on fermentation and process optimization as a subject matter expert and player-coach

○ Mentor junior engineers

● Communication

○ Ensure excellent practices in documentation of all protocols and experiments.

○ Effectively communicate results with stakeholders across the company.

Qualifications

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in chemical engineering or related field with 8 years of industry experience in microbial fermentation.
• Expertise in tank fermentation of Bacillii for protein production at bench scales (10L) and technical transfers with contract research organizations.
• Expertise in workflows driven by KPIs, leveraging data analysis and reporting from fermentation and downstream processing.
• Experience in downstream processes for protein purification.
• Experience in technical transfer from bench to manufacturing.
• Experience in Bacillus cell biology
• Ability to lead a team and contribute at the bench with hands-on workflow development.
• Demonstrated knowledge of experimental design, the scientific method, and statistical analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to work within different teams.
• Strong organizational and documentation skills.

Berkner Group has been retained to execute this search. If you were contacted by Berkner

Group, please reply to the person who contacted you. If you are applying to a job posting,

please email your resume and a brief introduction to careers@berknergroup.com. Please

include your name and the title for this position ([Your name] - Head of Bioprocess - 4RRX46V5)

in the subject line of your email. We look forward to hearing from you!