Job Summary Lead Engineer, Microbial Physiology and Fermentation It's an exciting time to be part of the IFF family. The combination of IFF and DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences unites us to form a global leader in taste, scent, nutrition and biosciences, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. This Microbial Physiologist/Fermentation position will join the Health and Biosciences business division (formerly DuPont). He/she will be one of the key members in microbial product development, at the junction between discovery and manufacturing.
Responsibilities: - Manage, lead and mentor a team of fermentation engineers and scientists in the development and optimization of fermentation processes to produce high-quality products using bacterial and fungal systems.
- Lead project teams and/or manage project portfolios with high complexity using technical expertise coupled with a broad perspective.
- Solve complex engineering and biological problems where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors to get to the root cause(s).
- Provide technical guidance and expertise in identifying and troubleshooting fermentation problems.
- Actively participate in the execution of scale-up/scale-down methodology for fermentation processes, including design and analysis of experiments.
- Work collaboratively with functional group leaders and team members to enable efficient execution of projects' objectives.
- Work as an individual contributor to conduct experiments and advance projects. Pursue novel technical ideas aligned with delivering business impact.
- Contribute to strain and process improvement efforts through different methodologies, such as supporting the implementation of evolution screening and small-scale assays.
- Document experiments, deliver technical presentations, and generate progress, technical, legal, and/or regulatory reports.
- Increase level of professional expertise of self and team through scientific literature and network contacts.
- Identify shortcomings in existing research procedures and systems and propose solutions to address them.
Job Requirements
Requirements: - Ph.D. degree in relevant Engineering or Biosciences disciplines with at least 9 years industrial experience OR Master's degree in relevant Engineering or Biosciences disciplines with at least 12 years industrial experience
- OR Bachelor's degree in relevant Engineering or Biosciences disciplines with 16 years industrial experience
- 3+ years of experience in people management responsibilities
- Strong microbial physiology skills as demonstrated by publications in peer reviewed journals and/or intellectual property
- Demonstration of exceptional capabilities in educational pursuits and associated work/study programs
- Experience in successfully introducing fermentation products/processes to the commercial scale by working at various scales (shake flask, benchtop, pilot and commercial scales) requiring aseptic conditions/technique
- Experience applying design of experiments and statistical analyses
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Self-starter with good organizational skills, attention to detail, and project leadership experience
- Flexible to work on an agile team in a dynamic environment
- Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
- Some travel required
- Position located in Wilmington, DE
Preferred Skills: - Experience in the enzyme, food, synthetic biology and/or microbiome spaces
- Aerobic and anaerobic fermentation process experience
- Developing and using computer-based models to analyze complex biological systems
- Automation & process control experience is a plus
We are a global leader in taste, scent and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability. Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more. We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability. Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more