TITLE: Biomanufacturing Group Lead
TYPE: Full-time, Salaried Exempt
REPORTS TO: Director, Laboratory Operations
LOCATION: St. Louis, MO
TRAVEL: up to 10%We will offer an attractive compensation and benefits package commensurate with experience to the successful candidate. To apply, please download the Position Questionnaire (http://techaccel.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Questionnaire-for-Bmfg-Lead.docx) and send your responses, with cover letter and resume to either:
Via US Mail to:
TechAccel, LLC
6811 Shawnee Mission Parkway
Suite 215
Shawnee Mission, KS 66202
Via email to:
jobs@techaccel.net
No walk-ins or recruiters.
Position Summary:RNAissance Ag LLC (a subsidiary of TechAccel, LLC) is an early-stage startup company developing RNA
interference (RNAi)-based agricultural products. We are seeking a
Biomanufacturing Group Lead for a
small dedicated team responsible for developing and demonstrating upstream and downstream
fermentation process performance at bench scale, and performing microbial production of interfering
RNAs to support R&D.
The successful candidate will have previous experience in leading a microbial
fermentation team, will be able to quickly learn new concepts that are specific to our technology and
approach, and will be an exceptional team player. This position will be located in the Greater St. Louis,
Missouri region. The Biomanufacturing Group Lead reports to TechAccel’s Director of Laboratory
Operations.
The Biomanufacturing Group Lead works in a laboratory environment, leading microbial fermentation
process development activities and producing RNAi products at laboratory scale (1-10 L) to support R&D
activities. The Biomanufacturing Group Lead will contribute to the development of exciting new
products and to the expansion of the company intellectual property estate. The candidate should have
experience growing and recovering various microbial species at scales from small shake flasks to pilot
scale fermenters. Experience with downstream processing of microbially-derived products is strongly
preferred.
The candidate should have a strong background in developing, troubleshooting and analyzing
data. We are looking for an individual with strong, creative problem-solving skills to troubleshoot and
innovate novel research methods to address project objectives and meet timelines. This person should
have a passion for defining and meeting tangible research objectives in an efficient and rapid fashion.
The successful candidate will work closely with TechAccel and RNAissance Ag scientific staff, consultants,
and colleagues focused on marketing & sales, finance, and operations. The Biomanufacturing Group
Lead will help recruit additional team members and will train and supervise junior team members. This
is an exciting opportunity for the right individual to leverage their knowledge and creativity to make a
real and tangible impact on translating innovation to commercial reality and have a significant influence
on the trajectory of the company.
Responsibilities:- Provide scientific leadership for our growing biomanufacturing team. This is a hands-on position,
and the successful candidate is expected to both perform research activities as well as manage
junior staff.
- Execute and/or oversee the execution of fermentation (stirred bioreactor) experiments with a high
level of excellence to ensure precise and accurate data.
- Contribute to the development of bench scale downstream processing operations and infrastructure
installation required to produce RNAissance Ag products.
- Lead or co-lead innovative research projects to increase production efficiency and product yields to
support lab-scale (1-10 L) microbial fermentation process development, improvement, and
validation.
- Train and oversee junior staff in general fermentation operations such as bioreactor
building/sterilization, cleanup, and turnover of bioreactors to maintain a set run schedule.
- Oversee manufacturing campaigns to ensure yield and quality requirements of microbial-produced
interfering RNAs are met to support R&D including deployment into trials.
- Provide technical insight into experimental design and perform data analysis.
- Work cross-functionally to integrate downstream fermentation processes with formulations and
entomology aims.
- Identify and work with partners to develop scale-up models and COGs of fermentation processes
and products.
- Manage resources, materials, and logistics required to design and execute complex biological
experiments primarily in the area of bioprocessing.
- Determine specific technical approaches to be implemented to successfully deliver project goals on
a startup timeline and budget.
- Conduct research in accordance with or exceeding all relevant Health, Safety and Environmental
guidelines.
- Communicate experimental progress and provide well-reasoned recommendations future work.
- Draft detailed technical reports, summary updates, scientific manuscripts, and presentations for
internal and external use.
- Coach and develop junior personnel.
- Work with Laboratory Operations Director to build the staff into a highly effective team that
demonstrates trust, shared priorities, accountability, and a commitment to results.
- Stay up to date on developments within the field to make recommendations for application of new
technologies to improve current processes.
Minimum Requirements:- Ph.D. in Microbiology, Biochemical Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or
related field and 8+ years post-graduate experience. A master’s degree in one of the listed fields
with 13+ years relevant experience will also be considered. Ideally a portion of that experience will
be in an industrial lab.
- Fermentation experience with a focus on biomolecule expression, such as protein or dsRNA.
- Experience with lab (1-10 L), pilot scale and/or commercial fermentation equipment (stirred
bioreactors), and microbial techniques.
- Demonstrated understanding of fermentation equipment operation, troubleshooting, and
maintenance
- Expertise in fermentation principles relevant to bioprocess development and improvement.
- Strong knowledge of downstream processing techniques for microbially-made products.
- Experience with general molecular biology techniques applicable to the growth and improvement of
production microbes, as well as methodologies applicable to the quantification and analyses of
dsRNA.
- Work well both independently, and as part of a team.
- Strong communication skills; ability to synthesize research results & report to technical & nontechnical
audiences.
- Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability: copes effectively with change and is comfortable with
ambiguity
- Demonstrated strengths in organization, prioritization, planning & project management.
- Prior experience with leading projects and managing technical staff.
The ideal candidate has at least some of these additional skills:- Experience with RNAi-based products.
- Experience with downstream processing techniques (e.g. milling, filtration)
- Solid understanding of agriculture markets and trends.
TechAccel, LLC (Technology Acceleration Partners) is a development company focused on advancing innovation in
Agriculture and Animal Health. Our partner relationships with Global Industry Strategics leverages their strong
technical expertise, regulatory infrastructure and the global distribution network. TechAccel co-funds the
development, de-risking and advancement of technologies that fill partner portfolio gaps or addressing new
adjacencies. Technologies typically are focused on the many technical paths address to the rapidly growing food
and animal health demands. Partner companies utilize TechAccel to accelerate time to market. TechAccel also
provides R&D services to meet partner surge needs as well as technology sourcing services.In addition to our strong technology advancement relationships with Global Industry Leaders, TechAccel partners
with leading Agriculture and Animal Health Venture Capital firms in advancing emerging technologies found in
aggressive and innovative industry start-ups. TechAccel brings a unique Science Advancement role to these
relationships in addition to our invested commitments. This dual commitment adds to the enterprise value creation
as well as the breadth of potential innovation derived from each integrated relationship.TechAccel is an equal opportunity employer. All employees are hired, compensated, promoted, disciplined and
evaluated without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, genetic
information, status as a qualified individual with a disability, military status, or any other protected characteristic as
established by law. TechAccel strictly prohibits any and all discrimination and harassment based upon an individual's
race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, status as a qualified
individual with a disability, military status, or any other protected characteristic as established by law. Any incident of
such harassment or discrimination must be immediately reported to the appropriate management level employee. 
