Fermentation Scientist

Location: Earth City

Job Title:

Fermentation Scientist

Job Description

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.

Responsibilities

+ 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.

Essential Skills

+ 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.

Additional

Skills & Qualifications

+ 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.

Work Environment

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.

Job Type & Location

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

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $50.00 - $67.00/hr.

Eligibility…