Senior Scientist - Microbial Upstream

Senior Scientist - Microbial Upstream Process Development
Darlington | Permanent | £34,500 - £46,500

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Scientist with experience within Microbial Upstream process development to join a growing bioprocessing team, providing technical leadership across customer-facing biologics development projects.

This is a senior scientific role focused on technical project leadership rather than line management. You'll lead and coordinate microbial upstream process development activities, working closely with customers, project managers, commercial teams, and scientific colleagues to deliver innovative biologics programmes.

The ideal candidate will bring strong expertise in microbial fermentation, process development, and scale-up, alongside the ability to work across functions and confidently engage with external stakeholders.

What You'll Be Responsible For:

Microbial Upstream Process Development

Lead the design, development, optimisation, and scale-up of microbial upstream processes for biologics production
Support the development of processes for products such as:
Recombinant proteins
Antibodies and biologic products
Other microbial-expressed therapeutic molecules
Apply expertise across microbial fermentation, strain development, and bioreactor operations
Technical Project Leadership

Act as the technical lead for small to medium-sized development projects
Coordinate activities across scientific, project management, and commercial functions
Ensure technical work packages are delivered to scope, quality, and timeline requirements
Provide scientific guidance and support to project teams and junior colleagues
Scale-Up & Technology Development

Develop and scale bioprocesses from high-throughput systems through laboratory and pilot-scale bioreactors
Support technology evaluation, optimisation, and implementation activities
Apply experimental design and statistical approaches to process development and optimisation
Evaluate data and translate findings into practical development solutions
Customer & Stakeholder Engagement

Act as a primary technical contact for customers and collaborators
Present scientific data and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders
Build strong relationships with customers, partners, and multidisciplinary teams
Support successful delivery of customer-funded and collaborative development programmes
Business Development & Innovation

Contribute technical expertise to proposal development and work-winning activities
Support customer discussions and identification of new opportunities
Help shape future technical capabilities and scientific strategy within the team
Maintain awareness of emerging technologies and industry developments
About You

You are an experienced bioprocess scientist with strong technical expertise and the ability to lead projects through influence rather than direct line management.

You'll bring:

A PhD, postdoctoral experience, or equivalent industrial experience in biotechnology, microbiology, bioprocessing, or a related discipline
Strong expertise in microbial fermentation for biologics production
Experience working with microbial expression systems, ideally

E. coli and/or Pichia pastoris
Proven experience developing and scaling bioprocesses from high-throughput systems through laboratory and pilot-scale bioreactors
Strong experimental design, data analysis, and process optimisation skills
Experience leading technical projects and delivering complex scientific programmes
Ability to work across scientific, project management, and commercial teams
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
Commercial awareness and an interest in supporting customer engagement and proposal development

Desirable Experience

Industrial R&D or technology development experience

Experience with in a CRO, CDMO, biotech, or innovation-led environment
Knowledge of technology transfer and commercialisation activities
Experience in collaborative R&D or grant-funded programmes
Experience working with recombinant proteins, antibodies, or other biologics
Familiarity with GMP environments and biopharmaceutical development
Why Join Us?

Lead innovative microbial bioprocess development…