Production Microbiologist – Fermentation Biotechnology / Molecular Biology

Primient•Loudon, TN

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Primient is a century old company with an entrepreneurial spirit. We are a leading producer of food and industrial ingredients made from plant-based, renewable sources. We deliver value through deep technical, commercial, and operational excellence that is backed by our long-standing corn wet milling heritage. Wherever we are in the process, from field to customer, our priorities are focused on ensuring we produce the safest, highest quality products through practices that uphold both our responsibility and commitments to the challenge and drive for excellence, our people and our planet. We are a privately held company with locations across the US, Mexico, Poland, and Brazil. We’re investing in our plants and people to unlock our potential in the industrial and food sectors. Guided by our values of Safety, Excellence, Integrity, and Growth, we’re focused on growing our business, our reputation, and the career of every teammate.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, or PhD in Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemical Engineering, or related scientific discipline.
3+ years of experience in industrial biotechnology, fermentation process development, microbiology, or bioprocess R&D in a laboratory, manufacturing or pilot plant environment.
Demonstrated experience operating and troubleshooting microbial growth systems, ideally fed-batch aerobic bacterial fermentations.
Fundamental understanding of fermentation scale-up principles, process control strategies, and bioprocess analytics.
Experience with molecular biology and contamination detection techniques including PCR, ELISA, and microbial identification methods.
Strong analytical, statistical, and technical problem-solving skills.
Demonstrated ability to maintain accurate laboratory documentation, experimental records, and electronic data systems with strong attention to detail and data integrity.
Excellent communication, organizational, and cross-functional collaboration abilities.
Ability to translate scientific and process-related information into clear, actionable communication for personnel across multiple functional and experience levels.
Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and support 24/7 operations when required.
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and work safely around pilot and manufacturing equipment.

Responsibilities

Lead daily microbiology laboratory activities supporting commercial fermentation operations, including aseptic inoculation, propagation, and maintenance of bacterial cultures.
Prepare and sterilize fermentation media, buffers, and process solutions.
Perform microbial plating, contamination monitoring, Gram staining, microscopy, and morphology tracking.
Develop and improve contamination detection workflows for bacterial, fungal, and bacteriophage identification in process streams and environmental samples.
Maintain microbial culture collections, master cell banks, and working cell banks with validated traceability systems and electronic inventory management.
Design and execute microbial engineering strategies to improve strain robustness, productivity, metabolic performance, and process consistency in industrial fermentation applications.
Support development and optimization of molecular and biochemical assays including rt-PCR, ELISA, and other rapid diagnostic methods.
Operate, troubleshoot, calibrate, and maintain analytical instrumentation including HPLC, carbohydrate analyzers, balances, shakers, and related laboratory equipment.
Analyze fermentation and analytical datasets using statistical and data visualization tools to identify process trends and continuous improvement opportunities.
Contribute to experimental design, DOE studies, root cause investigations, and technical reports.
Identify continuous improvement opportunities focused on improving process efficiency, contamination reduction, uptime, cost reduction, and operational stability.
Collaborate with other laboratory personnel and provide technical guidance on aseptic techniques, microbial operations, analytical methods, and data interpretation.
Maintain and improve SOPs, batch records, and laboratory documentation systems in compliance with site and quality requirements.
Provide on call technical support and troubleshooting for critical fermentation and microbiology operations as needed.
Collaborate closely with the R&D Manager to execute and support fermentation process development initiatives focused on improving productivity, titer, yield, process robustness, and manufacturing reliability.
Assist in execution, monitoring, and documentation of 15L fed batch aerobic fermentation experiments designed by the R&D Manager and broader Manufacturing Technology team.
Support fermentation optimization activities
Work alongside Operations, Engineering, and the R&D Manager to troubleshoot fermentation process deviations, contamination events, and operational performance issues.
Support scale-up and scale-down process evaluation efforts through laboratory experimentation, data collection, and process observation.
Assist with update, implementation, and maintenance of process monitoring systems, historical data review, and automation tools used in fermentation operations.
Contribute technical observations and recommendations during experimental reviews, process investigations, and continuous improvement discussions.
Support development of standardized fermentation practices, process documentation, and knowledge transfer across R&D and manufacturing teams.