Senior Scientific Officer, Fermentation

• Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN)
• Lab based role to develop fermentation strategies for research and industry
• Access state-of-the-art facilities and a range of on-site services
• Based at our vibrant St Lucia Campus

For more than a century, UQ has educated and worked with outstanding people to deliver unparalleled teaching, learning and research excellence that creates positive change globally. Join a community where excellence is at the core of our culture, contributions are valued and a range of benefits and rewards are available, such as:

• 26 weeks paid parental leave or 14 weeks paid primary caregiver leave
• 17% superannuation contributions
• 17.5% annual leave loading
• Access to flexible working arrangements including hybrid on site/WFH options, flexible start/finish times, purchased leave, and a condensed fortnight
• Health and wellness discounts - fitness passport access, free yearly flu vaccinations, discounted health insurance, and access to our Employee Assistance Program for staff and their immediate family
• On campus childcare options
• Cheap parking (from just $5.75 a day)
• Salary packaging options

IDEA Bio has emerged as a state-of-the-art fermentation biofoundry, dedicated to providing high-quality services to both academic and industry partners. Our mission is to develop sustainable bioprocesses that contribute to the growth of Queensland's bioeconomy and enhance Australia's position in the global biotechnology landscape.

IDEA Bio has fostered a robust network across key nodes funded by the NCRIS BioFoundry program. Our collaborations extend to the BPA Metabolomics and Proteomics Queensland and the Australian Genome Foundry nodes. These partnerships facilitate knowledge exchange, resource sharing, and collaborative projects. We have successfully delivered a robust platform for strain characterization and design through the implementation of analysis, bioprocess characterization, machine learning and artificial intelligence to accelerate cell factory engineering for advanced biomanufacturing. IDEA Bio is proudly hosted by The University of Queensland, in collaboration with participants. BPA and Queensland Goverment.

We are seeking a Senior Scientific Officer, Fermentation to join our team and support the development of fermentation workflows in close collaboration with clients, collaborators, and students.

The successful applicant will be primarily laboratory based and will work closely with our senior fermentation engineer to develop fermentation strategies to better characterised microbial strains.

Key responsibilities will include:

Core Scientific

• Set up, optimise and maintain the instrumented bioreactors (DASGIP, Multifors, Applikon) in the IDEA Bio facilities.
• Perform cultivation of microorganisms (bacteria, yeast) using existing and refined the fermentation strategies.
• Deliver high-quality data to clients using fermentation workflows.
• Train and provide technical support to students and staff using equipment.
• Organise and maintain bioreactors and probes/sensors.
• Coordinate sample preparation workflows with the proteomics and metabolomics teams.
• Provide scientific/technical advice on methods, equipment, quality assurance procedures, risk assessment and waste management.
• Assist the development of research and testing procedures and methodologies, including analysis of quality outcomes.
• Perform experiments and generate reports.
• Carry out sample preparation and analysis on instruments to satisfy and accomplish research outcomes.
• Implement standards and controls for reliable outputs.
• Perform standard maintenance on instruments for optimal performance.

General

• Assist, support, and maintain in the day-to-day activities and operations of the centre/team/facility (e.g., booking system and client engagement)
• Perform other duties as reasonably directed by the Research Facilities Manager

Safety

• Ensure a high standard of occupational health and safety standards and systems, including inductions, supervision, equipment training registers, administration of research facilities, inventories, reporting and investigating injuries, incidents, and hazards.
• Assist with developing a proactive safety culture and implement continuous improvement.

Leadership and management

• Support the development of more junior research scientists.
• Promptly resolve conflict and grievances when they arise in accordance with University policy and procedures.
• Contributes to research outputs, joint preparation, and authorship of reports/manuscripts.

This is a full-time (100% FTE), fixed-term position up to June 2026

At HEW level 6, the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $88,099.39 - $94,512.08, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $103,076.28 - $110,579.13 annually. As this role is covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases - at least once a year.

We are looking for an experienced and highly motivated fermentation scientist to apply their subject matter expertise and advanced the development of bioprocesses withing IDEA Bio.

You will also have:

• Completion of a relevant degree (cell biology, molecular biology, biotechnology, biochemical engineering) with subsequent experience, or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education/training in the cultivation of microorganism in instrumented bioreactors.
• Demonstrated research-relevant knowledge and skills with operation instrumented bioreactors and relevant operation software.
• Sound understanding of fermentation processes.
• Demonstrated experience in the cultivation of microorganisms (bacterial, yeast), including screening methods, media selection and standard growth kinetics characterization.
• Demonstrated laboratory skills (media and buffer preparation, sample preparation, implementation of experimental protocols, use of volumetric materials, etc)
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to plan, prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and work adaptably both independently and in a team.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with proven ability to produce clear, succinct documentation.
• Strong expertise in the Microsoft Office suite of programs, GraphPad Prism, and the ability to learn new programs (e.g., LabArchives, BioRender).

Desirable

• Completion of relevant postgraduate degree (masters, PhD) in chemical engineering, biochemistry, molecular biology, or related discipline
• Knowledge in fermentation control, optimisation and scale-up.
• Experience in the use of electronic lab books.

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment.
• Mandatory Immunisations: It is a condition of employment for this role that you will be required to provide evidence of immunisation against certain vaccine preventable diseases.

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Dr Axa Gonzalez Garcia, Senior Bioprocess Engineer / Research Fellow, ***************@uq.edu.au. For application queries, please contact ******@uq.edu.au stating the job reference number (R-38834) in the subject line.

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Cover letter addressing the 'About You' section
• Resume

Please note that you will be asked to add all documents into the one upload box labelled 'resume', which is step one of the application form.

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion. We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in our broader community, whether that be gender identity, LGBTQIA+, cultural and/or linguistic, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with a disability, or age. Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to ******@uq.edu.au.

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close Friday, 7 June 2024 at 11.00pm AEST (Job Reference Number - R-38834).