Fermentation Scientist

Fermentation Scientist

This role offers a unique opportunity for a fermentation scientist to own and improve an egg-based biological fermentation process from end to end. You will focus on understanding and optimizing a naturally derived active ingredient used in consumer deer and rabbit repellent products, making the process faster, more consistent, and scalable. Sitting at the intersection of R&D and manufacturing, you will translate what happens in the lab into robust, reliable production processes and serve as the subject matter expert for fermentation within the organization.

• Design, plan, and run fermentation experiments using egg-based materials to improve a naturally derived active ingredient.
• Investigate why the fermentation process behaves differently under various conditions, including why cycle times range from 7–10 days to up to 28 days.
• Systematically test and optimize process variables such as temperature, pH, microbial populations, and raw material differences.
• Adjust fermentation conditions to improve yield, consistency, speed, and overall process robustness.
• Translate successful lab-scale fermentation methods to pilot and full production scale while maintaining product quality and performance.
• Troubleshoot issues that arise when scaling up processes, including unexpected behavior or performance differences at larger scale.
• Collaborate closely with manufacturing teams to streamline operations and improve process efficiency and reliability.
• Study and interpret the microbiology underlying the decomposition and fermentation process to better understand process mechanisms.
• Help define and refine product quality standards, including stability criteria and acceptance parameters for the active ingredient.
• Document experimental designs, results, and conclusions in a clear and structured manner to support ongoing process development.
• Develop, write, and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fermentation, scale-up, and related quality practices.
• Apply sound experimental design principles to plan and execute tests, even without formal design of experiments (DoE) software or frameworks.
• Move regularly between lab and manufacturing environments, maintaining strong communication across both settings.
• Serve as the primary subject matter expert for fermentation processes, providing guidance and insight to cross-functional partners.
• Work independently in an environment with limited internal fermentation expertise, making data-driven decisions in the face of ambiguity.

• Bachelor's degree or higher in biology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or a closely related core scientific discipline.
• Hands-on fermentation experience in food science, brewing, or related fermentation applications, preferably involving egg-based systems.
• Practical experience running fermentation processes and optimizing variables such as temperature, pH, microbes, and raw material inputs.
• Experience with process scale-up from lab to pilot and production environments, including troubleshooting at larger scale.
• Strong understanding of microbiology as it relates to decomposition and fermentation processes.
• Ability to design and execute experiments using sound scientific methodology, even without extensive formal DoE training.
• Proven ability to work across both lab and manufacturing settings and to move comfortably between bench work and production environments.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to work effectively in ambiguous situations without a predefined playbook.
• Capability to act as a hands-on, practical scientist or engineer, focusing on real-world process performance rather than purely theoretical work.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills for documenting findings and building SOPs.

• Background in food, fermentation, or brewing applications such as beer, kombucha, dairy, kimchi, sauerkraut, or similar products.
• Comfort working with complex, variable, and "messy" real-world processes rather than only controlled academic systems.
• Experience defining product quality standards and stability criteria for biologically derived products.
• Prior experience collaborating closely with manufacturing or operations teams to improve process efficiency.
• Experience serving as a subject matter expert in a specialized technical domain.
• Advanced degree (such as a master's or PhD) in a relevant scientific or engineering field, provided the candidate maintains a hands-on, practical approach.

The role operates in both laboratory and scale-up manufacturing environments, providing a blend of bench-level experimentation and hands-on work with pilot and production equipment. You will spend time in a lab setting conducting fermentation experiments and microbiological evaluations, and in a manufacturing setting where processes are tested, scaled, and refined.

This is a Contract position based out of Earth City, MO.

The pay range for this…