Senior Scientist

About Us

We are pioneering a breakthrough in recombinant protein production with our novel approach. This disruptive method offers cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable protein manufacturing for applications in life sciences, animal health, and beyond.

We seek an experienced Scientist to lead our team of professionals and report to the R&D Director. This is a leadership role at the forefront of biotechnology innovation, with direct impact on taking recombinant proteins from research scale to commercial manufacturing.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and manage the Downstream Process Optimisation & Protein Purification team, including setting individual performance metrics.
• Oversee strategy and execution for downstream R&D activities.
• Design and optimise protein purification workflows for recombinant proteins expressed in complex eukaryotic systems.
• Implement and validate virus removal/inactivation steps to meet global regulatory standards.
• Translate research protocols to commercial-scale processes, collaborating closely with the production team.
• Coordinate with the Upstream-Downstream Process Integration Team.
• Establish and maintain robust R&D processes, ensuring timelines and milestones are met.
• Contribute to IP strategy and ensure all downstream innovations are protected.
• Participate in recruitment, training, and development of team members.

Required Skills & Experience

• PhD or Master's degree in Biotechnology, Bioprocess Engineering, Biochemistry, or related field.
• 7+ years (PhD) or 10+ years (Master's) of industry experience in Recombinant Protein Purification and Downstream Processing.
• Demonstrated expertise in virus removal or inactivation techniques.
• Proven track record of scaling up purification processes from research to commercial manufacturing.
• Strong leadership, people management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience in working with complex eukaryotic expression systems – preference for candidates with insect-based expression experience.
• Exposure to IP processes and working with legal/IP teams.
• Exceptional problem-solving, analytical thinking, and communication skills.

Benefits

• Join a fast-growing VC-backed biotech company.
• Opportunity to work on globally relevant technologies.
• Contribute to a mission-driven company making protein production faster, cheaper, and greener.

Equipment Proficiency

• Critical systems: Chromatography Systems - AKTA or equivalent FPLC/HPLC systems for affinity, ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and size exclusion chromatography.
• Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) / Ultrafiltration Units - Protein concentration, buffer exchange, and diafiltration at research and pilot scale.
• Centrifugation Systems - High-speed and ultracentrifuges for cell debris removal and clarification from insect biomass.
• Virus Removal & Inactivation Equipment - Depth filtration units, virus filtration modules (e.g., 20 nm filters), and chemical inactivation setups.

Good to have Working Knowledge

• Bioreactor Harvest & Clarification Systems - Continuous and batch clarification units suitable for insect biomass processing.
• Pilot-Scale & Production-Scale Skids - Downstream processing skids for chromatography and filtration during scale-up.
• Clean-In-Place (CIP) & Steam-In-Place (SIP) Systems - For maintaining GMP compliance in purification operations.
• Analytical Systems for Purity & QC - SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, SEC-MALS, spectrophotometers, and ELISA platforms.