Director/Sr. Principal Scientist, Downstream Process Development

At Corbion, we exist to champion preservation in all its forms, preserving food and food production, health, and our planet.

Corbion’s Algae Ingredients business is based in South San Francisco and leads the industry in developing new applications and markets for algae-based products. We have a range of sustainably produced algae products that deliver breakthrough innovations for human and animal nutrition.

An opportunity is available to play a leadership role in the Downstream Processing group. This position will be responsible for building and directing the downstream process development team and supporting the technology transfer of key recovery processes to our manufacturing facilities. The successful candidate will serve as a corporate subject matter expert and liaison with both internal collaborators and external partners. This individual must demonstrate a high degree of flexibility, creativity, and initiative in performing the various duties associated with the position.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Demonstrate strong leadership and commitment to safety, quality, and accountability.
• Manage and mentor a team of 2 - 5 scientists, engineers and/or research associates.
• Work within a team framework with both individual responsibility and proactive support of other colleagues.  Interacts closely with Pilot Plant, R&D, Facilities and Manufacturing Groups for routine planning and coordination.
• Serve as technical lead on internal projects and/or in joint development agreements with external partners.  Represent Downstream Processing (DSP) on cross-functional teams.
• Develop scalable processes for the recovery of products of interest from microbial fermentation broth.  Set and execute strategies for continuous improvement of performance metrics (yield, cost, etc.) for commercial production and creation of IP.
• Establish and implement scale-down models to support process development and optimization, as well as trouble-shooting of operations at manufacturing scale.
• Hands-on role in the design, implementation, and operation of bench- and pilot-scale experiments with unit operations including cell lysis, drying, particle size reduction, extraction, filtration, centrifugation, mixing, chemical modification, oil processing, crystallization, etc.
• Utilize theoretical unit operation principles to support experimental design.  Perform mass and energy balances to characterize select unit operations or processes.
• Develop analytical methods required for process monitoring and product characterization; hands-on skills with instrumental analysis and wet chemistry.
• Critically evaluate, procure, and implement new technologies for the development of new processes and generation of samples for characterization and application development.
• Transfer technology and knowledge to commercial operations.
• Plan and coordinate external development projects with contract labs and vendors as needed.
• Maintain accurate documentation in laboratory notebook and/or batch records.  Interpret and present experimental data to provide guidance for projects and process development.
• Author or review technical reports, SOPs, invention disclosures and relevant sections of regulatory submissions.
• Ensure compliance of Corbion’s knowledge management policy by team members.

REQUIREMENTS:

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years relevant industrial experience with demonstrated ability to manage, mentor and develop junior team members.
• Experience in development and scale-up/down of recovery processes from lab to pilot to production scale with particular focus on cell lysis, drying, filtration, centrifugation, extraction, mixing, and oil processing.
• Experience with application of theoretical unit operation principles to support scale-up/down and technology transfer.
• Experience in conceptual process design and techno-economic assessments preferred.
• Experience in operating and maintaining lab and pilot-scale process equipment.
• Experience in analyzing biological materials using common analytical chemistry and wet chemistry methods, as well as developing and running physical chemistry/process characterization methods.
• Skillful in problem-solving and trouble-shooting data, equipment, and procedures at various process scales.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and priority-changing environment without sacrificing accuracy, quality of work, and safety.
• Ability to work both independently and as a key teammate within an interdisciplinary team.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with ability to effectively convey scientific concepts and results to both technical and non-tech