Description
Lead end-to-end development and commercialization of biofuels products. Define, plan, and execute R&D and scale-up programs that evaluate alternative feedstocks and process technologies with near-term commercial potential and translate results into manufacturable, compliant, and cost-effective fuels.
- • Define product requirements and development roadmaps for biofuels with near-term commercial viability.
- • Oversee development of lab-scale and pilot models of production processes, such as fermentation.
- • Direct computational modeling and data tools to accelerate R&D and scale-up decisions.
- • Provide technical guidance and mentoring to cross-functional R&D and process teams.
- • Approve experimental plans and stage-gate milestones for product development.
- • Prepare and deliver R&D and product performance reports to senior leadership and partners.
- • Lead enzyme/protein engineering strategies to improve feedstock processing where needed.
- • Guide development of separation and recovery processes for target fuels and coproducts.
- • Establish methods to recover ethanol or other fuels from complex bioreactor liquid and gas streams.
- • Define and apply metrics to estimate biomass pretreatment efficiency and conversion yields.
- • Oversee design and execution of solvent and product recovery experiments in lab, pilot, or field settings.
- • Prioritize and manage applied research on transport, thermodynamics, mixing, filtration, distillation, fermentation, extraction, and separation relevant to product specs.
- • Direct design and optimization of chemical conversion processes (e.g., transesterification, esterification, hydrogenation, distillation).
- • Supervise studies on biomass and pretreatment technologies and translate findings into process requirements.
- • Manage pilot trials of new or alternate feedstock fermentation processes and de-risk scale-up.
- • Review and interpret process and product data (e.g., fluid dynamics, water treatment, solvent extraction) to drive decisions.
- • Oversee prototyping, formulation, and validation testing of biofuels products to meet customer and regulatory requirements.
- • Propose and justify new products, processes, or applications based on research outcomes and market needs.
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
