Oil Chemist

about 3 years ago
Full time role
New York, NY, US... more
New York, NY, US... more

Job Description

At C16 Biosciences, we believe that palm oil doesn’t have to be a problem. Our team is building a sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternative to “conflict palm oil,” which relies on tropical rainforest deforestation and emits over 1 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. C16 Bio’s technology platform harnesses naturally-occurring biological processes, improved by the latest innovations in strain engineering, fermentation, and low-cost lipid extraction to produce a better kind of palm oil.
 
As an oil chemist, you will be responsible for transforming C16’s microbially-produced palm alternative into commercially relevant products. You will propose experiments and design processes to fractionate, split, and produce downstream products to meet market specifications within the personal care and beauty industry. You will work closely with the bioprocess and downstream processing teams to improve product quality and performance.

Major Responsibilities

  • Design, optimize, and implement all quality testing protocols to ensure C16’s microbially-produced palm oil meets relevant commercial and regulatory specifications
  • Lead efforts to design processes, at both benchtop and pilot scale, to fractionate, split, and synthesize relevant oleochemical products
  • Partner with outsourced laboratories and toll manufacturers to design processes required to process C16 Bio’s palm oil alternative at pilot scale
  • Serve as the technical owner of C16 Bio’s oleochemical R&D roadmap
  • Document and present all relevant experimental data to the broader R&D team

Minimum Requirements

  • BS in Chemistry with five or more years of directly relevant experience in oil and fats or oleochemical development
  • Industry experience related to emollients, emulsifiers, and surfactants used in the personal care and beauty industry
  • A solid industry knowledge of palm-oil derived oleochemical ingredients used in the personal care space
  • Working knowledge of environmental issues and EPA standards and processes
  • Excellent lab skills including documentation, experimental design, equipment maintenance, organization, time management, and overall efficiency
  • True, proactive team player: As a member of a small team, you will sometimes need to volunteer and contribute to activities outside your responsibilities
  • Independent, resourceful thinker, able to propose creative, low-cost solutions to novel chemical engineering challenges
  • US work authorization: While C16 Biosciences is interested in all candidates eligible to work in the United States, we are unfortunately are unable to sponsor work visas.

Preferred Requirements

  • MS or PhD in Chemistry, with directly relevant experience in oils and fats
  • Prior experience designing pilot-scale oleochemical processes

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