About General Biological:
General Biological (GB) is a pioneering industrial chemical and hardware manufacturing company developing the next generation of sustainable, low-cost biomanufacturing technologies. Our mission is to establish a new era of chemical products and physical materials derived from renewable carbohydrates rather than fossil fuels.
Central to our approach is vertical integration - positioning ourselves at the intersection of biotechnology, chemistry, and integrated hardware-software engineering to rapidly scale our innovative technology stack. The GB platform harnesses a non-model organism with remarkable metabolic flexibility and low sterility requirements, allowing us to truly industrialize biotech. By building custom bioreactor hardware and downstream operations, we fully leverage these properties to dramatically reduce capital and operating costs while accelerating implementation.
GB is assembling our founding team to join us in building a generational company that will transform scalable bioproduction practices for modern heavy industry. For more, see generalbiological.com
Summary:
We are seeking a Chemistry R&D Lead to play an integral role in identifying and developing strategies for downstream processing and product testing/development. This position requires a strong background in organic and analytical chemistry, as well as experience in product extraction workflows.
As GB pursues vertical integration, you will have exciting opportunities to contribute to interdisciplinary project teams working on end-to-end hardware and process solutions. We are looking for someone who thrives on project ownership, ensuring timely execution, managing independent work streams, tracking budgets, and aligning efforts with our broader vision.
The ideal candidate will help drive GB's success by applying their academic and practical knowledge of chemistry to identify scalable production strategies that optimize chemical biotransformation and extraction processes and facilitate target production metrics for molecules of interest at pilot scale. This role involves hands-on work, protocol development, and problem-solving - requiring a first principles mindset and willingness to take calculated risks.
Essential Functions
- Plan, execute, and supervise research projects and experiments towards the development of chemical processes and product recovery and purification
- Develop synthetic plans involving chemical reactions mediated by light, energy, heat, and chemical catalysts using practical knowledge and/or simulation to optimize industrially relevant process metrics
- Conduct and supervise the preparation of compounds, test solutions, reagents, and protocols used in synthesis, testing, and product extraction workflows used by chemists, technicians, and other staff
- Determine the relationships of chemical and physical properties, composition, structures, and reaction processes of organic and inorganic compounds using chromatography, spectrophotometry and spectroscopy techniques
- Develop, improve, and customize products, formulas, analytical methods, and processes by experimenting with multiple variables simultaneously and identifying acceptable ranges for all operational parameters and targeted process metrics
- Collaborate closely with biologists and engineers on experimental design, product development, production processes, data analysis and interpretation, and assay development to to optimize end-to-end processes and improve overall efficiency
- Meticulously document findings in technical papers and reports, prepare specifications and testing standards, and communicate research findings to senior leadership and team members
- Clean, maintain, and conduct quality control tests on laboratory instruments
- Order laboratory supplies and chemicals and manage chemical inventory to ensure regulatory compliance, safety, and quality standards are met to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries in the lab
- Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in organic and analytical chemistry, and apply this knowledge to improve processes
Education and Experience:
Required
- Ph.D. or M.S. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field with a minimum of 2 years of relevant industry experience
- Strong background in organic and analytical chemistry
- Experience in product extraction workflows, including but not limited to electrodialysis, ion-exchange, ionic liquids, or more traditional methods including filtration, crystallization, etc.
- Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively to overcome challenges
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines
Preferred
- Experience with LC-MS, NMR, and organic synthesis
- Knowledge of bio-based chemical production processes and/or fermentative separations processes
- Familiarity with process scale-up and technology transfer
- Experience with computational modeling and statistical analysis
Salary and benefits:
GB offers comprehensive benefits including:
- Stock options
- Full medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Relocation stipend
- Parking allowance
- Unlimited PTO
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