Fermentation Scientist III

About Pivot Bio:  

Fueled by an innovative drive and a deep understanding of the soil microbiome, Pivot Bio is pioneering game-changing advances in agriculture. Our first commercial product harnesses the power of naturally-occurring microbes to provide nutrients to crops. We are dedicated to providing new sustainable ways for farmers to improve yield as they work to help feed the world’s growing population. Read/Hear more about Pivot Bio on Forbes or PBS News Hour.

Pivot Bio is seeking an experienced Fermentation Scientist III to help tackle one of agriculture’s most pressing challenges: Reducing synthetic nitrogen use through innovative biological nitrogen-fixing alternatives. Reporting to the Senior Scientist, Fermentation, the candidate will be responsible for development of industrially scalable fermentation processes for a diverse range of Gram-negative nitrogen-fixing bacteria with an aim of improving product quality and shelf-life, reducing manufacturing cost, as well as enhancing nitrogen-use efficiency in cereal crops. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Leads the development of industrially scalable and cost-effective fermentation protocols for production of non-model nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria. 

• Manages the development, optimization, and hands-on operation of Pivot Bio’s fermentation process development platform in service of mapping growth space of our microbes, designing scalable fermentation processes for current product and new candidate strains, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives involving fermentation. 

• Mentors, coaches, and provides direction to junior members of the Fermentation and Formulation teams. 

• Works cross-functionally with high-throughput screening, downstream process development, manufacturing, and other relevant teams to design and validate streamlined bioprocesses for delivering high-quality microbes from fermenter to field. 

• Works with the Scientific Computing and Data Science teams, and LIMS power-users to ensure alignment with best practices in data stewardship, transparency, and statistical rigor.  

• Applies technical fermentation expertise in accordance with company objectives to solve complex problems in creative and effective ways. Independently identifies opportunities for improvement and driving innovation in the Fermentation and Formulation department and beyond. 

• Acts as a TPL (Technical Project Lead) or high-impact IC (Independent Contributor) responsible for high complexity and high priority projects. 

• Works within Environmental, Health & Safety guidelines and identifies and leads implementation of opportunities for improvement. 

Required Education & Experience: 

• Ph.D. in Systems Biology, Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Microbiology, or a related field and at least 5 years of relevant experience in bench-scale fermentation process development and optimization in an industrial or academic setting. 

• Experience with fermentation-derived biological plant stimulants and/or crop protectants is a plus. 

• Extensive experience with operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of fermentation equipment, including high-throughput, multi-parallel (e.g., Sartorius ambr250), and bench-scale systems, preferably from multiple vendors. 

• Demonstrated experience with optimizing cultivation conditions (batch, fed-batch, continuous), media formulation, feed-back and feed-forward process control, with focus on high-viability biomass production. Experience with fermentation process scale-up and related key concepts is a plus. 

• Solid grasp of microbial physiology and metabolism (esp. that of Gram-negative bacteria) as it pertains to fermentation process development and optimization.  

• Familiarity with biomass concentration (centrifugation and/or tangential flow filtration) and drying technologies (spray- and/or freeze-drying), as well as laboratory automation (robotics) systems is an asset.  

• Proficiency in statistical data analysis and data visualization; working knowledge of laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and databases is an asset.  

• Experience applying Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology and multi-variable data analysis (MVDA) tools to data spanning both fermentation and downstream processing steps. 

• Strong organizational skills, including an ability to contribute to multiple projects in parallel and navigating changing R&D priorities. 

• Strong verbal and written communication skills. 

Travel: 

• Occasional travel (up to 10%) to collaborate with third-party partners (CROs and CMOs) and attend off-site meetings. 

What we offer:

• Work that makes an impact on food sustainability and climate change
• Competitive package in a disruptive startup
• Stock options
• Health/Dental/Vision insurance with employer-paid premiums
• Life, Short Term and Long Term Disability policies
• Employee Assistance Program with free referrals and discounts
• 401(k) plan, 3% Match
• Commuter benefits
• Annual Training & Development support
• Flexible vacation policy with a generous holiday schedule
• Exciting opportunity to work with a talented and fun team