Research Fellow in Rapid Process Development

About us

Surfactants, fragrances and polymers are key ingredients in Unilever’s household, laundry and personal care brands such as Persil, Comfort, Dove, and Sure. The EnzAct Prosperity Partnership, funded by BBSRC & EPSRC, aims to accelerate Unilever’s path to sustainability with enzymatic processes to create the next generation of surfactants, fragrances, and functional polymer ingredients for Unilever products. Currently, a significant proportion of ingredients are from fossil carbon-derived sources and Unilever has pledged to replace such ingredients as part of their ambitious sustainability goals. By harnessing enzymes, which are nature’s catalysts, EnzAct aims to re-design surfactants, polymers and fragrances using bio-based feedstocks.

About the role

The role will focus on the technology demonstration of metabolic engineering and upstream process development for gas fermentation, establishing feasi ble techno-economics for a bio-surfactant product. The primary objective will be strain development of Cupriavidus necator and the performance evaluation of the strain in continuous gas fermentation at large laboratory scale, speeding process development cycles through complementary omics analysis. This is a multi-disciplinary project, integrating world-leading expertise in biotechnology, process development and sustainable manufacturing. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and create a cutting-edge sustainability platform, which will provide cost-effective and renewable processes to bring about resource circularity. The role will be funded for up to 18 months in the first instance.

About you

We are seeking a highly motivated bio-engineering researcher to join the Prosperity Partnership team. You will have existing experience with strain development of C. necator, enzyme characterisation and continuous gas fermentation. You’ll have the ability to generate, analyse and document experimental data though efficient project management and creative problem solving. An ability to collaborate within a multi-disciplinary team is essential.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: • 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) • Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme • Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) • Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan • Immigration loan • Relocation scheme for certain posts • On-Site nursery • On-site gym • Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay • Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service • Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. Our department holds an Athena Swan Gold award in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

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