Oath
Associate Director, Bioprocess Development
Vacaville, CA · Director
Sponsorship not specified$105k-$130kDetected 20 days ago
StatisticsProject ManagementJiraSupply ChainProcess ImprovementIntellectual PropertySignal ProcessingResearchExperimental DesignLeadershipCommunicationCollaborationFermentationAgronomy
About the role
- This role is responsible for advancing solid-state fermentation (SSF), submerged fermentation, and downstream processing capabilities through internally executed experimental programs and externally managed development activities.
- The scope includes development and optimization of upstream and downstream processes for producing live microbial dried powders for products that improve soil and plant health.
- The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in microbial fermentation and downstream processing with strong leadership, communication, collaboration, people management, and project management skills.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute the company's bioprocess development roadmap across solid-state fermentation, submerged fermentation, and downstream processing (i.e., formulation, drying, milling of live microbes).
- Drive scientific excellence and data-driven decision-making across all development programs.
- Lead the development and optimization of solid-state fermentation (SSF) technologies.
- Provide scientific leadership for submerged fermentation development programs conducted internally and through external partners.
- Design and oversee experimental programs to improve microbial growth, sporulation, viability, productivity, consistency, and process performance.
- Lead development and optimization of downstream processing operations, including biomass recovery, drying, stabilization, and related unit operations.
- Design and execute laboratory-scale DSP experiments.
- Generate technical recommendations to support future manufacturing and product development activities.
Requirements
- Ph.D. in Fermentation Science, Microbiology, Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline (M.S. with significant relevant industry experience may be considered).
- 5+ years of industrial experience in bioprocess development, including microbial fermentation, downstream processing, scale-up, and technology transfer.
- Demonstrated expertise in microbial fermentation process development, including both submerged fermentation (SmF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF).
- Experience working with Bacillus, Streptomyces, co-cultures, or other soil- and environmental-derived microorganisms.
- Experience supporting manufacturing scale-up, commercial process implementation, and continuous process improvement in a fast-paced biotechnology environment.
- Experience contributing to intellectual property development, invention disclosures, and technology strategy.
- Familiarity with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), such as Benchling, R2DIO, or equivalent platforms.
- Required
- Hands-on experience designing, executing, and analyzing upstream and downstream process development experiments, with strong experimental design, statistical analysis, and data interpretation skills.
- Proven track record of leading and developing scientific or technical teams while successfully managing multiple cross-functional projects.
- Experience managing CROs, CDMOs, or other external development and manufacturing partners, including technical oversight, project planning, and technology transfer.
- Excellent leadership, communication, collaboration, and project management skills, with the ability to translate complex technical findings into clear recommendations for R&D, Manufacturing, Commercial, and Operations teams.
- Proficiency with common scientific and business software, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, project management tools (e.g., Jira or Asana), LIMS (e.g., Benchling or R2DIO), collaboration platforms (e.g., Slack or Teams), statistical analysis software (e.g., JMP, Spotfire, or R), and AI productivity tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini).
- Preferred
- Experience developing microbial products for agriculture, environmental, industrial biotechnology, food, or other life science applications.
- Experience developing sporulation processes, formulation strategies, and microbial stabilization technologies for live microbial products.
Compensation
- $105,000-130,000 base salary.
This listing is sourced directly from Oath's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.