Company Description

Founded in 2016, MiAlgae leverages cutting-edge science and technology to tackle global food security and environmental challenges. Our breakthrough innovation lies in eliminating the need for wild-caught fish as a source of Omega-3, by harnessing microalgae—a sustainable and potent alternative.

Our production process recycles co-products from the food and drink industry to grow Omega-3 rich microalgae, returning clean water in the process and supporting a truly circular economy.

We are proud to be a diverse, family-friendly and inclusive employer, committed to equity and belonging in everything we do. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are open to discussing flexible working arrangements that suit both you and the role.

Role Description

This is a full-time R&D Scientist role based in Edinburgh, working within MiAlgae's Research & Development team and reporting to a Principal Scientist.

The R&D Scientist will take ownership of strain screening and development workflows, identifying, characterising and optimising microbial strains for use as production platforms for high-value compounds in food and feed applications. The role will play a key part in advancing strain candidates through development and supporting their progression towards commercial-scale production.

You will combine high-throughput growth and characterisation techniques with targeted metabolic studies to build a deeper understanding of strain performance. Working closely with Fermentation and Bioprocess Development teams, you will help evaluate promising strains at pilot and commercial scales while contributing to the continuous improvement of strain development workflows, screening strategies and experimental pipelines.

Key responsibilities include microbial strain screening and improvement, phenotypic characterisation using analytical techniques including Gas Chromatography, development of scalable strain development workflows, data management and documentation, and communication of scientific findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Qualifications

MSc, PhD or equivalent industrial experience in bioprocessing, molecular biology, engineering biology or a related discipline.
Approximately five years of relevant experience in strain development, microbial characterisation or a related scientific field.
Experience using high-throughput growth and analytical methods to characterise strain growth and product formation.
Experience designing selective or adaptive screening strategies to enrich desired phenotypes under industrially relevant conditions.
Strong experimental design and data analysis skills, with the ability to analyse complex datasets and support data-driven decision making.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience working effectively within cross-functional teams.
Ability to maintain detailed scientific documentation and communicate complex technical information clearly to a broad audience.

Desirable

Experience working with multiple microbial hosts, including two or more of yeast, bacteria and microalgae.
Experience establishing and applying growth kinetics to characterise strain performance.
Knowledge and application of omics techniques to better understand microbial strain behaviour and performance.
Experience influencing projects and challenging scientific approaches to drive improved outcomes.
Experience using robotic liquid handling platforms or other laboratory automation technologies.
Experience supporting the progression of strain development activities from proof-of-concept through to pilot or commercial-scale operations.