Bioprocess Engineer

About us The Bland Company is a foodtech and biotech startup on a mission to make sustainable eating easy, affordable, and accessible for everyone. We’re building a new class of functional plant proteins — transforming agricultural byproducts into high-performance food ingredients that are flavor-neutral, highly functional, and scalable. We’re a fast-moving team of six and are backed by leading US investors. We combine protein science, engineering, and food innovation to turn sustainable science into industrial reality.

The Role :

We’re looking for a Pilot Engineer to scale up our benchtop processes by operating and executing experiments on pilot scale equipment.

You’ll be responsible for translating lab-scale extraction, separation, and drying processes into reliable, repeatable pilot-scale operations. You’ll own day-to-day running of our pilot line, process optimization, and data collection — working closely with protein scientists, engineers, and manufacturing partners to bridge R&D and commercialization.

Key Responsibilities :

Operate and maintain pilot-scale equipment including centrifuges, filtration systems, reactors, dryers, and mixers

Use engineering design, data-driven optimization, and process innovation

Execute and document pilot runs following process parameters and safety standards

Support commissioning, calibration, and preventive maintenance of equipment

Draft and maintain SOPs, batch records, and scale-up reports

Scale up extraction, precipitation, and drying processes from lab to pilot level

Troubleshoot process deviations and perform root cause analysis

Collect and analyze process data (yields, purity, moisture, functional metrics) to drive optimization

Develop and analyze mass and energy balances; use statistical tools to correlate process conditions with product performance.

Ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and food-grade manufacturing standards.

Able to lift and handle 20–40 kg samples of raw materials and intermediate products safely.

Comfortable working in a hands-on lab environment, including handling powders, slurries, and wet processes.

Prepared to get physically involved in pilot operations, cleaning and sampling.

Requirements :

M.Tech or PhD in Chemical Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, Food Technology, or related field

2+ years of experience in pilot plant, process engineering, or food / biotech manufacturing

Hands-on experience with key process equipment (centrifugation, filtration, evaporation, spray drying, etc.)

Strong analytical mindset with comfort handling process data, mass balances, and troubleshooting

Familiarity with protein chemistry or food ingredient processing a strong plus

Familiarity with GLP / GMP or HACCP standards is a plus

What We Offer :

A front-row seat in building the next generation of sustainable ingredients

A tight-knit, mission-driven team that values speed, transparency, and creativity

Opportunities for fast growth, ownership, and global impact