Process Development Engineer, Polymerization

Job Description

Zymergen is hiring an experienced chemical engineer with expertise in polymerization to expand our Products Division Chemical Engineering capability. As a member of the Chemical Engineering process development team, the incumbent will develop and transfer production processes of Zymergen’s novel molecules to commercial scale.

Job Description and Specific Responsibilities

An ideal candidate for this position will perform the following duties:

• Plan and execute process development across scales, and transfer processes between sites
• Technical vetting of CRO/CMO and evaluating their assets against Zymergen’s process and timing needs
• Provide oversight of external partners and manage process and/or equipment testing at CRO/CMO and equipment vendor facilities
• Cross functional work with fermentation downstream process development group, materials research project teams, project management, product management, and commercial operations to drive time critical projects to completion under safe operating conditions.
• Drive implementation / identification of internal / external laboratory capabilities and assist in the development of a network of CROs/CMOs in the area of chemical and polymer synthesis and processing
• Build out laboratory capabilities
• Provide regular project updates for products leadership

Qualifications/Experience

We favor candidates with the following qualification/experience:

• BS/MS in Chemical Engineering with 5+ years industry experience OR PhD in Chemical Engineering and 2+ years of industry experience
• Hands on experience conducting development work at lab and/or pilot scale
• Previous experience scaling up polymerization reactions is highly preferred
• Demonstrated experience in scaling processes from lab/pilot into operational pilot/commercial scale facilities, including tech transfers and on-site support.
• Demonstrated experience in planning and operating hazardous processes (background in polymerization preferred)
• Experience with a range of commercially-applicable solids handling unit operations such drying, filtration, crystallization, precipitation.
• Thorough knowledge of chemical engineering principles in practice
• Experience in process synthesis, developing and utilizing process cost models, is preferred
• Experience with Aspen Plus process simulation software is preferred
• Experience with hazard management analysis and demonstrated focus on safe operations is a must

Additional Details

• Travel requirements ~10-25%
• Demonstrated focus on safe operations is a must
• Previous experience in the field of synthetic biology is not essential

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. Zymergen may agree to sponsor an individual for an employment visa now or in the future if there is a shortage of individuals with particular skills for this job.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Founded in 2013 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zymergen is a technology company unlocking the power of biology. We deliver better economics for products made from biology that are used across industries, bring new products to market faster, and develop novel products. Our proprietary platform uses robots and machine learning to engineer microbes faster, more predictably, and to a level of performance previously unattainable. These microbes, and the products they produce, have broad applications across industries such as chemicals and materials, agriculture, and healthcare. For more information visit www.zymergen.com .