Prairie AquaTech, LLC dba Houdek Back 40 is a technology company based in Brookings, South Dakota that is improving animal health and nutrition by providing high quality feed ingredients and the solutions they enable. Using patented technologies licensed on a worldwide, exclusive basis from South Dakota State University and developed internally, the Company is upgrading plant-based commodities, such as soybean meal, to sustainable, high-quality ingredients with applications for use in aquaculture and other specialty animal feeds.

JOB DUTIES

As a key member of the Houdek Back 40 team, this role will report to the Vice President of Technology and will be responsible for the following:

Strong project management and tech transfer skills managing timelines, budget, and communication
Generate engineering documents (PFD, mass balance, P&ID's, process narratives, etc), equipment specifications and store them in a professional, orderly, and version documented manner.
Support the generation of techno-economic analysis to drive continuous improvement.
Supporting process investigations, equipment, and process troubleshooting. This is inclusive of substantial hands-on operational support in the manufacturing and pilot facilities.
Developing strategy for and executing process validation activities, including process performance qualification and continuous process verification.
Identifying and driving implementation of improvements to maximize throughput, capacity utilization (debottlenecking), while maintaining or enhancing product quality.
Collaborate with manufacturing and support engineering, safety/health/environment, quality, and supply chain functions to provide robust and coordinated support.
Defining relevant operational/technical standards and practices for the site.
Provide technical leadership as a member of the Research and Development team for execution of engineering runs during technology transfer from development to manufacturing.
Monitor, track, evaluate, and report data from unit operations to support project/client communication and deliverables.
Perform statistical analysis.
Respond to and trouble-shoot process issues related to assigned work and areas of expertise.
Assess and select equipment to meet process needs, including safety, alignment with other equipment in process, sizing, debottlenecking, materials of construction, turndown assessment, etc.
Perform material assessments as required.
Develop scientific and technical understanding of unit operations and production processes.
Define and justify critical and key process parameters and provide the support for regulatory submissions
Develop specifications, standard operating procedures, work instructions and forms to support implementation of new processes.
Train production staff to ensure they can perform duties involving new equipment and new processes.
Generate protocols and reports for engineering validation GMP runs.
Prepare change controls and perform change control assessments according to internal procedures as required.
Comply with safety requirements and work to resolve any environmental, health and safety issues.
Optimize processes to effectively and efficiently produce product that meets clients' quality specifications.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

M.S./B.S. in Chemical Engineering, or related discipline with 10+ years of relevant industry experience in process development, technology transfer, and/or manufacturing.
Works well in a high growth environment
Strong project management and communication skills
Budget management
Sterile/Aerobic Fermentation
Deep technical, operational, and hands-on equipment knowledge
Experience in the scale-up and operation of large-scale biotechnology processes.
Experience developing acceptance criteria for technology transfer and/or validation.
Experience owning, managing, and executing change controls and using the management of change systems/processes.

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