Senior Downstream Processing Scientist

Job description

As we scale up and commercialize our PurePalette pigments, we’re looking to strengthen our process optimization team with a Senior Downstream Processing Scientist. In this senior role you will take ownership of the strategies used to recover and purify our pigments from complex fermentation broth, and to produce pigment powders and liquids suitable for textile, plastics and coatings applications. Working alongside our fermentation and formulation teams, you will set the direction for our DSP development, designing, optimizing and scaling robust processes, and carrying them through to manufacturing.

Specific tasks include:

• Leading the development and lab-scale optimization of a wide range of DSP unit operations, including filtration, solid-liquid, and liquid-liquid extraction, and drying
• Investigating new DSP strategies to improve product quality and to develop products for new application areas
• Validation of process parameters at pilot-scale and production of product test batches
• Tech-transfer to Octarine’s manufacturing partners
• Investigating how DSP parameters influence product performance alongside our product development team
• Providing technical leadership within the wider process development team and helping to build our downstream capability as the company grows

Your profile

This is a senior position, and we are looking for a candidate with genuine depth in downstream processing. Ideally you should be able to meet as many of the following as possible:

• A PhD in chemical engineering, biotechnology or a field related to downstream processing - or an MSc with an equivalent level of hands-on experience
• A strong track record purifying organic molecules from complex biological matrices, including yeast fermentation broth
• Demonstrated hands-on expertise across a wide range of DSP unit operations, particularly unit operations related to filtration, drying and extraction
• Industrial or real-world scale-up experience is a strong advantage
• Skilled in process integration and intensification, with demonstrated success in developing downstream processes suitable for scale-up manufacturing
• Impeccably well organised and able to work across different projects with different unit operations
• Strong analytical and creative skills, with an ability to solve complex problems with innovative and creative solutions
• An excellent communicator, able to work efficiently in cross-functional teams
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment, able to meet tight deadlines and adapt quickly to operational changes

Why work with us?

Octarine is located in the centre of one of Europe’s most liveable cities, in a country world-renowned for its exceptionally high quality of life and work/life balance. As a synthetic biology scale-up, Octarine team members have a high degree of autonomy, and their decisions and daily work have a direct and measurable impact on the success of the company. Work life at Octarine is highly diverse and ever-changing, team members are called on to assist the company in a wide range of areas and are constantly challenged with new and exciting scientific problems.

Octarine has a core interest in developing solutions to big societal problems and works with molecules at the cutting edge of scientific knowledge, we therefore look for people who are excited and inspired to help change the world for the better. Working at Octarine gives you a unique opportunity to uncover the full potential of these ground-breaking molecules and to see how your scientific research leads to tangible real-world solutions.

If this sounds like you and you’re excited to join our team, please apply ASAP! Applicants will be assessed on an ongoing basis. Please include at least a paragraph in your application (as part of the CV) with a brief explanation of how your background meets the requirements for the job.

Feel free to contact Octarine’s CSO Nick Milne ([email protected]) with any questions or queries about the job posting.

About Octarine

We are a world-leading synthetic biology platform with a core mission to harness nature to drive bio-based, low-impact solutions to address the most pressing planetary issues through innovation & exploration. Founded in 2018, based on foundational research conducted at the Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology at The University of Copenhagen and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Biosustainability at The Technical University of Denmark, and driven by a responsible future where these pressing issues are met with transformative solutions. Grounded in a robust scientific foundation and unrivalled expertise in cell factory engineering, precision fermentation and enzymatic enhancement, we proudly unveil world-leading synthetic biology platforms, poised to transform entire industries for the betterment of society and the planet. We’re inspired by nature to protect nature.

Our latest R&D program harnesses precision fermentation to produce a new class of vibrant bio-based colours for the textiles industry and beyond, seeking to provide a solution that is not only highly sustainable, but also offers exceptional performance in textiles, printing, coatings, and other application areas.