Why this role is important for CPI’s
work
This is a fantastic opportunity to join CPI as a Placement Student within our Food and Feed team. You will work in a multidisciplinary environment to develop precision fermentation and biomass fermentation processes aimed at producing novel foods and functional ingredients. Your contribution will support the delivery of innovative projects through preparation, research, testing, and analysis, ensuring smooth laboratory operations and enabling scientific staff to focus on technical delivery.
You can see an example of the fantastic work our team has done here .
Key Responsibilities
1. Support the development of scalable microbial and cell culture food processes from shake flask to 10,-litre bioreactor scale, including submerged and solid-state processes.
2. Assist in process development and scale-up of bioproduct recovery and purification operations.
3. Set up, operate, and monitor microbial fermentation processes under batch, fed-batch, and continuous conditions. Maintain bioreactors and escalate issues impacting performance.
4. Contribute to experimental design (DOE) to study variable effects on fermentation performance.
5. Ensure compliance with Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE), GMP, Data Integrity, and quality standards.
6. Perform general laboratory housekeeping and manage purchasing of chemicals and equipment.
7. Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to understand project needs and deliver agreed outcomes.
The person we are seeking
We are looking for someone who is:
8. Studying towards a degree in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field.
9. Knowledgeable in microbial cultivation and fermentation, with good analytical and numerical skills.
10. Experienced in IT packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
11. A strong communicator who values collaboration and continuous learning.
Desirable:
Experience with aseptic techniques, bioreactor operation, microscopy, and preparation of microbial growth media.
What does CPI offer you?
At CPI, we offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, this includes:
12. Up to 36 days holiday, including bank holidays – Plus a holiday purchasing scheme
13. Generous pension scheme
14. Life assurance and accident insurance schemes
15. Flexible working
16. Learning and Development Opportunities
17. Free parking