What are the responsibilities and job description for the Fermentation Microbiologist position at Oleo Sustainable Palm Oil Solutions?
Job Description
Job Description
Company Overview :
Oleo Sustainable Palm Oil Solutions is a venture dedicated to halting palm oil driven deforestation. Palm oil is one of the most carbon intensive commodities in the world, largely due to the deforestation that occurs at the beginning of its supply chain.
At Oleo, we transform biomass waste into a sustainable palm oil alternative with applications ranging from consumer goods products to biofuels. To enable this vision, we have developed a two-part biomanufacturing platform that (1) extracts cellulosic sugars from biomass waste and (2) uses them as a substrate for the fermentation of an oleaginous yeast strain to produce sustainable oil products. Our technology, developed at Stanford University and patent pending, can valorize a wide range of inputs, circumventing traditional feedstock availability issues and reducing the cost of biomass preprocessing. We are currently supported by Activate, Cyclotron Road, the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy, Alpine Social Ventures, Collab Fund, Safar Partners, and G-Force.
Role Description : Fermentation Microbiologist
We are looking for an experienced fermentation microbiologist to join the Oleo team to lead the development and optimization of our fermentation process. In this position you will be responsible for advancing key components of Oleo’s technology, working with bioprocessing and strain engineering in laboratory settings, and designing processes and equipment to optimize sustainable oil production via biomanufacturing. This role is in person based in Berkeley CA. Our team will look to you to design and lead experiments, as well as daily operations in our lab.
Primary Responsibilities of this Role Include :
Strain selection and improvement : Isolating, screening, and genetically modifying microorganisms with desirable fermentation characteristics to enhance product yield and quality.
Media optimization : Designing and preparing nutrient media tailored to specific microorganisms to maximize fermentation efficiency.
Fermentation process development : Conducting laboratory-scale fermentation experiments to study the impact of parameters like temperature, pH, oxygen levels, and agitation on fermentation outcomes.
Scale-up and production support : Transferring optimized fermentation processes to larger production scales, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring consistent product quality.
Data analysis and interpretation : Analyzing fermentation data to identify trends, optimize parameters, and draw conclusions about process improvements.
Characterization : Characterizing biomass, hydrolysates, and oil samples via mass spectrometry to inform the development of specification sheets and provide inputs to technoeconomic models.
As the Ideal Candidate, you would bring
PhD in molecular biology, molecular engineering, microbiology, bioengineering, chemical engineering, biochemistry, or other related fields, with 1-3 years of industry experience.
Previous experience with protein expression and microbial host engineering.
Expert knowledge of microbial fermentation and biomanufacturing.
Culturing and maintaining fungi including media preparation and preparing inoculum.
Demonstrated competency designing and executing experiments, and making data driven decisions based on experimental outcomes.
Ability to leverage physical and chemical characterization techniques, including mass spectrometry, to measure key properties of cellulosic hydrolysates and microbial lipids.
A sense of initiative and organizational acumen to prioritize research efforts and take ownership of projects from ideation to implementation.
The resilience to overcome technical challenges and persevere through bottlenecks to ensure successful project implementation.
The ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with teammates, stakeholders, and suppliers.
Nice to haves
CAD competency for the design of custom laboratory equipment.
Knowledge of statistical methods including design of experiments.
What we offer
Annual salary of $90,000 - $110,000. Actual salary can be more or less than the posted range and will be determined based on the individual’s applicable skills, education, qualifications and experience for the role.
Company equity
Healthcare, dental, vision insurance for employees
Competitive PTO
401(k) plan with company match
We are focused on building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you’re excited about this role, but do not meet 100% of the qualifications listed above, we encourage you to apply.
Salary : $90,000 - $110,000