Senior Research Scientist, Fungal Fermentation R&D | Biotech Startup; Chicago, IL; S

You've spent years studying how fungal strains behave, and you've watched companies treat that knowledge as secondary to engineering. This is the role where the science leads. Not in Chicago? Relocation assistance is available.

Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, a Chicago-based biotech startup commercializing a proprietary fungal protein platform with applications in food ingredients, biomaterials, and beyond. The company is approximately 70 to 75 people, privately held, and operating with the intensity and ownership culture of an early-stage startup. They have consolidated operations into a single pilot facility in Chicago and are focused on optimizing their fermentation platform for commercial viability.

The team today is built primarily of engineers. They know how to build, run, and maintain fermentation systems. What they are missing is the person who can go deeper on the science: someone who understands fungal strain behavior at a fundamental level, who can design and lead experiments to optimize media formulations, and who can translate complex biological data into decisions that improve product quality and cost efficiency.

The Director of Process and Pilot Engineering put it directly: "The missing piece we're trying to solve for is deep scientific research. Going further down and finding out answers and solutions. That's more than anything else right now."

This is not a scale-up role with some science on the side. This is a science role with an engineering team around you to help execute.

Filamentous fungi are among the most underutilized protein production platforms in biotech. Most organizations treat the unique physiology, the growth behavior in submerged culture, and the challenges of continuous fermentation as obstacles. This team treats them as the core competency.

The company has survived the wave of overhyped alternative protein collapses precisely because they prioritized sustainable operations over growth-at-all-costs. They are now in a position to optimize with discipline, and they need a scientist who understands fungal fermentation deeply enough to help them do it right.

If you finished your PhD, went into industry, and now find yourself contributing to projects but never quite owning the scientific direction, this is the alternative.

You will report to a Director who has been with the company for six years and is actively invested in the success of whoever fills this seat. The role was described as roughly 50/50 between hands-on bench and pilot work and desk-side analysis, experiment planning, and data interpretation. Over time, as you generate answers and build confidence in the platform, the role shifts toward ideation and scientific leadership.

The hiring manager was clear about what guarantees an interview: "Personality first, the ability to blend with the team and work in a startup environment. Then technical knowledge, know-how, and being a subject matter expert."

If you've been waiting for the right opportunity to own the science instead of supporting someone else's, this is it. And if location has been the thing holding you back from a role like this, relocation support with a sign-on bonus is part of the package.

• Design and lead experiments focused on fungal strain optimization, media formulation, and fermentation process improvement at benchtop and pilot scale (50L to 500L)
• Investigate how strain physiology responds to changes in media composition, feeding strategy, and environmental conditions, and translate findings into actionable process improvements
• Apply statistical DOE and data analysis to interpret complex datasets, identify low-hanging optimizations, and inform techno-economic feasibility decisions
• Serve as the scientific subject matter expert on the team, bridging the gap between what the biology can do and what the product quality and cost targets require
• Operate, troubleshoot, and maintain bioreactors at lab and pilot scale, including hardware and control systems
• Partner cross-functionally with R&D, engineering, and downstream processing to ensure fermentation outputs meet product specifications
• Contribute to SOPs, experimental…