Are you interested in shaping the future of food by producing new sustainable food ingredients with cutting edge technology and with superb colleagues who are top experts in their field? Onego Bio might be just the place for you.

Onego Bio is a Finnish game-changing food-biotech company producing animal-free egg white with precision fermentation. The company's award-winning technology has placed them at the forefront of the industry, having cracked the code to producing bioidentical egg proteins that provide the same taste, functionality and nutrition but without the poor efficiency and harmful impacts of animal agriculture. Onego Bio is launching its first product Bioalbumen® as an ingredient for the food industry and transforming the food system to meet the urgent sustainability requirements of the world. The company is focused on scaling precision fermentation to industrial scale with the superior Trichoderma reesei production platform.

 Founded by alternative protein pioneer Maija Itkonen (CEO) and precision fermentation trailblazer Christopher Landowski (CTO), Onego Bio is a spin-off that salutes the remarkable work done by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland for the next level cellular agriculture products and applications. Since launching, the company has received massive international recognition, including being selected as a winner of Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards. Onego Bio is a founding member of Food Fermentation Europe and Precision Fermentation Alliance US. Get to know us better by exploring our webpage www.onego.bio  

We are now looking for a talented Downstream Process Engineer/Scientist to join our R&D team in Helsinki

In this position, you will play an essential role in developing, planning, and carrying out research projects with a project team and contribute towards our greater goal of providing animal free egg protein ingredients to the world. Ultimately, we aim to be part of building a sustainable food system with the help of our partners throughout the world. Towards this goal our team will produce solutions for a variety of bioprocesses and exploit filamentous fungi in the processes. This will require monitoring and characterization of microbial physiology in process conditions to facilitate optimization and scale up from bench-scale cultivations to industrial-scale processes.

Your responsibilities as Downstream Process Engineer:

• Bioprocess development project work with filamentous fungi, focusing on downstream process development and optimization with other R&D teams. Work will include planning, execution of hands-on lab work, data collection, analysis and reporting of laboratory-, pilot-scale, industrial-scale DSP trials.
• Collaboration with the protein, food, and manufacturing teams to ensure successful product development and manufacturing of Bioalbumen®
• Development and improvement of downstream processes at pilot- and industrial-scale
• Participation and contribution to commercial scale Bioalbumen® production factory design to ensure a high performing and efficient downstream process implementation.

Who we are looking for someone with:

• A degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biotechnology or other relevant technical discipline (BSc/MSc)
• Knowledge of downstream processing, including different filtration technologies, centrifugation and column purification
• High working standards
• Good scientific reporting skills
• Good written and spoken English skills

It would be advantageous if you have:

• Previous working and hands-on experience either in pilot- or industrial-scale downstream process unit operations at bio/food/chemical industry, or laboratory-scale experience about protein purification
• Knowledge of protein chemistry
• Experience operating pilot-scale DSP equipment
• Experience working with microorganisms such as filamentous fungi
• Experience in scaling up from lab-scale to pilot-scale or doing technology transfer projects

As a person, we hope that you:

• Skilfully and precisely plan and perform experiments
• Have strong communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills
• Work well with other team members and contribute to a good working environment
• Can tolerate pressure and maintain a good work-life balance
• Are flexible to take on a variety of tasks anticipated in a start-up company

What we offer you: 

• Molecular biology with an impact. Onego Bio is transforming the future of egg production by creating cutting-edge microbial protein production systems. Microbial production technology to produce egg white protein can significantly mitigate environmental impacts according to the LCA study published in Nature Food. The positive impact of our technology does not only contribute positively to the environment but also supply chain stability, global health, food security and animal welfare. Egg is one of the world’s most popular proteins and our team stands to meet the demand in a way that preserves the future of our planet.
• Superb colleagues. We offer working in a passionate environment within a fun and diverse team who want to make an impact on the world. With Onego Bio, you will join a dedicated group of top experts in their respective fields who foster a culture of trust, openness, and sharing ideas.
• Competitive salary. We want to attract the best people, so we will provide competitive salaries.
• Nordic work–life balance. Working in Finland, the happiest country in the world, enables a high quality of life. At Onego Bio, we make our people’s well-being a priority. We offer 6 weeks paid vacation a year, among other benefits including extended occupational healthcare, and exercise and culture benefits

Employment type: Full-time, Permanent

Location: Helsinki/Espoo Finland

Apply now and join our community of brilliant minds!

Please send your CV and application letter as soon as possible but at the latest by Sunday, 27th April. We will process applications as they come in and fill the position as soon as we find the right candidate.

Interested and want to hear more?

For further information, please contact Damhan Scully, Interim Team Lead for Bioprocessing, damhan.scully@onego.bio.

Read more about our past work on the topic: 

• https://www.fastcompany.com/90878786/onego-bio-bioalbumen-animal-free-egg-whites
• https://foodmatterslive.com/article/precision-fermentation/
• https://agfundernews.com/onego-bio-ceo-makes-the-case-for-animal-free-egg-proteins
• https://www.eu-startups.com/2022/03/10-fantastic-fast-growing-finnish-startups-to-watch-in-2022/
• https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/ovatko-tassa-suomen-seuraavat-kasvuraketit-talouselaman-lista-paljastaa-10-kiinnostavinta-startupia/2dcba57f-b63d-41f4-82d8-0e9689c57e5b

• https://sifted.eu/articles/foodtech-startups-to-watch/
• https://www.onego.bio/press/our-news/seed-round
• https://www.onego.bio/press/our-news/additional-funding
• https://www.onego.bio/press/our-news/perfectday-nth-bio

We look forward to hearing from you!