Do you consider yourself both a scientific leader and a hands-on problem-solver? Are you keen to apply and translate advances in metabolic engineering to a commercially viable, consumer-driven biotech platform?
Come join us at the BioInnovation Institute (BII) in Nørrebro as an experienced R&D Lead on the AMMO Project within our company-creation program, Bio Studio.
Your Opportunity to Join BII’s Bio Studio Program!
Established by the Novo Nordisk Foundation in 2018, BII promotes collaborative, interdisciplinary, research-based innovation in the Life Sciences, Quantum Science, and Deep Tech and helps build viable start-up companies to ensure that such innovations become widely available for the benefit of people and society.
This is where Bio Studio comes into the picture, which is one of BII’s programs supporting the creation of viable start-ups. Bio Studio is our company-creation program that aims to build life science start-ups based on world-class research. Bio Studio projects are three years, grant-funded projects sourced from leading researchers worldwide. Selected for their scientific novelty, commercial potential, and societal and/or health impact, each project forms a dedicated team based at BII and led by an Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR), which is expected to become the core of the future start-up company. Teams have access to laboratory facilities, office space, and BII’s network of industry experts, investors, and advisors to support scientific development, IP, commercialization, and fundraising.
A career at BII allows you to work with world-leading entrepreneurial scientists in a position where you will have a substantial chance to impact your job and the opportunity to develop your bio entrepreneurial skills.
About The Project And The Role
As R&D Lead, you will own the scientific and technical direction of a customer-driven R&D program, focusing on the microbial production of high-value natural products for diverse industry applications that span pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, platform chemicals, food and agriculture, and advanced materials.
This project aims to transform cutting-edge research into a viable start-up company within a three-year timeframe in Bio Studio.
You will lead and integrate strain engineering, analytical chemistry, and fermentation development, ensuring rapid learning cycles and clear technical progress towards strains with scalable and commercially relevant performance.
You will have full ownership of the R&D team, its operating culture and the entire development pipeline. Later in the project and as we move towards commercialization, you will be in charge of delivering solutions to our customers and partners, as we bring our proprietary strains to scale and deployment.
The role combines strategic R&D leadership with close collaboration across multiple disciplines in a highly entrepreneurial research environment.
Specifically, you will play an instrumental role in the following role responsibilities:
- Defining and driving the scientific and technical strategy for microbial strain and process development
- Leading end-to-end design–build–test–learn (DBTL) execution across strain engineering, analytics, and fermentation
- Translating experimental and analytical data into clear engineering priorities and technical decisions aligned with commercialization goals
- Ensuring scale-up readiness through robust fermentation performance, documentation, and interaction with external partners where relevant
- Building, mentoring, and guiding a high-performing R&D team, including milestone planning, prioritization, and clear communication of progress
Your daily work and well-being will be shared directly with the Entrepreneur in Residence, but as a small community with close ties and bright minds, you should be prepared for many cross-functional and inspiring discussions that can help shape your work at BII.
Professional & Personal Qualifications
We seek a colleague who is driven by purpose and dedicated to bringing science to life. Ideally, you bring the following competencies and skills:
- PhD in biotechnology, synthetic biology, molecular biology, biochemical engineering or other relevant fields
- 3–5 years experience post-PhD, with proven ability to lead R&D execution in microbial strain development / metabolic engineering
- At least 1–2 years commercial experience – either in a start-up, scale-up or in industry
- Demonstrated experience leading strain development programs, including pathway engineering, genome editing (e.g., CRISPR), strain screening/selection, and iterative improvement of strain performance
- An understanding of microbial fermentation and process development, including translation from screening to benchtop bioreactor studies; familiarity with scale-up principles is a plus
- Strong ability to plan and execute complex technical programs, manage priorities, and communicate results effectively across technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Additional experience in the following areas is a plus:
- Broad metabolic engineering breadth across multiple strain systems / targets / modalities, potentially in a service capacity or across multiple multi-year projects
- Experience driving a strain into a fermentation optimization / scale-up program, including coordination with bioprocess engineers and/or external CDMOs
- Previous experience as a founder or as a key hire/ early-stage employee in an early-stage or high-growth start-up is a plus
- Growth mindset and interest in technology commercialization and company creation, with the ability to link technical work to business goals
Working at BII
At BII we offer a purpose-driven community where science and innovation create meaningful change and impact in society. BII’s entrepreneurial environment is shaped and nurtured every day by our employees, start-ups, and everyone who joins us in bringing science to life. This role offers a unique opportunity to join Europe’s largest innovation and incubation initiative within life sciences and deep tech.
At BII, we value diversity, inclusion, and well-being at the core of our operations, believing that the best ideas emerge when diverse perspectives unite. Join us to work alongside passionate changemakers in a dynamic, supportive environment where you can grow, shape the future of life sciences, and make a meaningful impact.
Located in the heart of Copenhagen, our offices provide an inspiring setting for collaboration and innovation. You can find us at Ole Maaløes Vej 3, 2200 Copenhagen N.
See our open positions at BII on our career page or on LinkedIn.
Curious for more?
If you are curious to know more about the position, please contact Dr. Jerome Unidad, Entrepreneur in Residence, by e-mail: jun@biostudio.dk.
To apply, please send your CV, cover letter, and academic transcripts by clicking on the “Apply now” button. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible and no later than 1st February.
You can expect to hear from us after the application deadline, once the hiring team has reviewed all applications. We expect an interview process consisting of two interviews to take place during February.
