Process Engineer

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 a Process Engineer you will lead all activities relating to the operation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of our newly established sample generation facility. You will also help with scale up activities and production at our future contract manufacturingsites. You will own the transfer of novel processes developed in the laboratory, scale them to our sample generation facility, and interface with commercial and quality teams. You will be a critical member of a tight-knit R&D team focused on developing a sustainable alternative to palm oil production.
This role will be based in Pearl River, NY with occasional travel to our NYC Headquarters and CMO sites.

What you'll do:

• Plan and successfully execute process scale up and sample production runs
• Develop SOPs for all fermentation equipment and downstream process unit operations
• Monitor critical process parameters and troubleshoot equipment during processing
• Manage the day-to-day activities and inventory of the facility
• Analyze process samples using OD600, moisture analyzer, HPLC etc.
• Maintain accurate and detailed batch records and data
• Run pilot size equipment and maintain the equipment in good working order
• Interact at all levels of the organization, developing a customer service mindset
• Work with external partners for services and maintenance (i.e., contractors, equipment vendors, facility service providers)
• Review data and analytics to make continuous process improvement at scale
• Comply with safety policies, quality policies and procedures, standard operating procedures, and process transfer documentation

Requirements

• BS, or MS in chemical engineering or related field
• BS (6+ years) MS (4+ years) experience in process development, engineering or production involving fermentation and/or downstream processing
• 2+ years of fermentation or oil extraction pilot plant experience, with hands-on experience in operating pilot fermenters, centrifuges, heat exchangers, evaporators, or other product recovery, purification, and concentration equipment

We're also looking for:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Downstream equipment hands-on operation and maintenance experience
• Experience with plant start-up/commissioning a plus.
• Ability to be flexible and work with changing priorities and tight timelines
• General knowledge of QA/QC, KPI etc.
• Organized, self-starter, able to work independently
• Ability to work a flexible schedule as needed due certain operations extending beyond the typical 8-hour workday, or possible weekend work as necessary

Diversity at C16 BiosciencesC16 Bio celebrates diversity in all its forms, we are committed to offering equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status, disability, veteran status, and more.