What are the responsibilities and job description for the Postdoctoral Fellow – Methane Bioreactor Development and Technology Translation position at University of Utah Department of Chemistry?
Company / University Description
University of Utah and University of Washington are recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to help develop next-generation biological systems for low-concentration methane capture and conversion. This position brings together expertise in bioreactor engineering, methanotroph biology, computational biophysics, and technology commercialization to address one of the most urgent climate challenges: reducing methane emissions while creating valuable products.
The position is jointly mentored by Mary Lidstrom (methanotroph physiology and metabolic engineering), Jessica Swanson (molecular biophysics and efficiency modeling), and Swomitra Mohanty (bioreactor engineering).
Role Description
The postdoc will play a central role in designing and optimizing continuous methane-fed bioreactors for low-concentration methane conversion.
Responsibilities include:
- Designing and operating continuous bioreactor systems
- Optimizing gas-liquid mass transfer and reactor performance
- Growing and characterizing Methylotuvimicrobium buryatense 5GB1
- Identifying biological and engineering bottlenecks limiting efficiency
- Generating data to inform scale-up and commercialization strategies
- Participating in early-stage technology translation, including customer discovery
This role involves work across both Seattle and Salt Lake City.
Qualifications
Required
- PhD in Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Microbiology, Biomolecular Sciences, or related field
- Hands-on experience with bioreactors, microbial systems, fermentation, or transport phenomena
- Strong experimental skills
- Interest in interdisciplinary climate technology development
Preferred
- Gas fermentation or gas-liquid reactor experience
- Methanotroph/C1 metabolism experience
- Scale-up experience
- Interest in startups, commercialization, or climate tech
More Details: https://www.swansongrouputah.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Biomethane-Postdoc-Utah_Washington.pdf
To Apply
- Send an email briefly describing why you are interested in this position and why you think you would be a good fit. See above link for further instructions.