Senior Scientist, Fermentation Team Lead

Job Title: Senior Scientist, Fermentation Team Lead
Job Type: Permanent, Full-time
Work Schedule: Onsite, In Office
Sector: Alternative Energy
Location: San Diego, CA

NES Fircroft is a leading global technical recruitment company providing professional contract and permanent staff to a diverse world-wide client base within the energy industry. Our client, a a pioneering start-up with innovative biotechnology that will create a sustainable pathway for alternative fuels, has a permanent opportunity for a Senior Scientist Fermentation Team Lead to be based in San Diego, California.

Position Summary
 
Join a cutting-edge biotech company at the forefront of enzyme design for alternative fuel production. In this role, you will play a key part in developing and optimizing biocatalytic solutions that drive innovation in sustainable energy. Working alongside a team of top scientists and engineers, you will contribute to groundbreaking research and commercial-scale applications that push the boundaries of synthetic biology and fuel technology. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a mission-driven company shaping the future of energy.


Key Responsibilities:
 

• Lead development of company’s enzyme production R&D systems and processes at lab scale.

• Identify and evaluate expression microbial hosts for recombinant enzyme production.
• Establish pipelines and workflows (or DBTL cycles) to design experiments, generate data, get results, learn from results, and apply the results in another cycle to push enzyme titers and productivities higher.
• Design, build, and test microbial enzyme expression strains.
• Develop screening procedures to identify optimal strains.
• Design and test fermentation processes for enzyme production, including media optimization, seed train development, process setpoints, and feeding schemes.
• Explore downstream process unit operations for enzyme purification from fermentation broth, including centrifugation, clarification, filtration, and dialysis.

• Design, organize, and implement project management strategies for the group, including communication systems, data sharing systems, and coordination meetings/standups.

• Build and maintain a well-annotated strain digital and physical strain library.
• Performing sequence confirmation through both Sanger and NextGen/short-read/long-read sequencing technologies.
• Oversee tech transfer to the manufacturing group.
• Collaborate on enzyme evolution and expression projects with the evolution team.
• Training, guiding, and developing junior scientists/engineers in pursuit of the above responsibilities.

 
Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Molecular Biology, or equivalent area, from an accredited university.

• Experience performing strain and metabolic engineering for enzyme production in diverse microbial hosts.

• Deep technical knowledge of recombinant enzyme expression problems and strategies to improve enzyme expression.

• Experience establishing and validating plate, flask, and bioreactor enzyme production

experiments.

• Experiencing implementing, organizing, and executing project management strategies.
• Experience leading scientific teams.
• Additional experience to support key responsibilities above.

 
Working Conditions/ Environment:

• Able to work 5 days a week onsite.
• Able to work in a BSL1 laboratory with hazardous materials including flammables, corrosives, and general health hazards.
• Travel up to 10%.
• Eagerness and appetite to be a team player and leader working in an exciting startup environment.

  
Why work here
 

• Growth in a Fast-Paced Environment – Join a pioneering, growing start-up at the forefront of synthetic biology, fuel innovation, and sustainability.
• Be Part of Cutting-Edge Biotech Innovation – Be part of a cutting-edge biotech company engineering enzymes to revolutionize alternative fuel.
• Mission-Driven Impact – Help drive the transition to cleaner, more efficient energy sources by developing breakthrough biotechnologies.
• Collaborative & Inclusive Culture – Work in a team-oriented environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Work with Industry Experts – Engage with top-tier scientists, researchers, and business leaders at the forefront of alternative fuel innovation.
• Competitive Compensation & Benefits – Enjoy market-leading salary packages, comprehensive health benefits, 401(k) match, and more.

 
This is an excellent opportunity to join a pioneering start-up with innovative biotechnology that will create a sustainable pathway for alternative fuels. The successful applicant will receive a competitive compensation package, annual bonus, comprehensive medical benefits, PTO, holidays, and more. Candidate must have authorization to work in the U.S. without a visa or ongoing work permit. For more information on this opportunity or others, please contact Mishu Ventura.

With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.