Fermentation Scientist

Oath is a leading microbial sciences company that utilizes natural soil biology to offer innovative solutions to some of the most critical challenges facing our planet - the climate crisis and the shift to sustainable agriculture. We imagine a world where these crises are not just alleviated, but reversed, replenishing Earth's microbiomes. Our solution has moved beyond the lab and into real-world deployment, focused on improving farmer livelihoods with teams in Rwanda, Europe, the United States, and expanding. When you join Oath, you become part of a collaborative network that prioritizes high quality scientific work. You will be working alongside trained scientists, talented commercial teams, and a broad network of partners—an ecosystem designed to help you do your best work and grow your capabilities. Position Summary: The Fermentation Scientist will develop, optimize, and scale microbial fermentation processes across submerged liquid fermentation (SmF), solid-state fermentation (SSF), and downstream processing (DSP). This role will have a particular focus on Streptomyces and will help translate laboratory processes into robust, scalable manufacturing processes. Key Responsibilities: Develop and optimize submerged liquid fermentation and solid-state fermentation processes. Design and execute fermentation experiments from bench scale through scale‑up. Develop robust cultivation processes for Streptomyces and other microbial strains. Optimize media, inoculum strategies, growth conditions, productivity, yield, and process consistency. Develop and improve downstream processing (DSP) approaches for microbial biomass and product recovery. Troubleshoot fermentation and DSP performance and identify key drivers of process variability. Support process scale‑up and technology transfer to internal manufacturing teams and external CDMOs. Develop process documentation, protocols, batch records, and technical reports. Analyze experimental and manufacturing data and translate findings into actionable process improvements. Collaborate closely with microbiology, formulation, manufacturing, quality, and external partners. Qualifications: PhD with 1–5 years of relevant industry experience in microbiology, biotechnology, biochemical engineering, fermentation science, or a related field. Hands‑on experience with submerged liquid fermentation and solid‑state fermentation. Experience cultivating Streptomyces or closely related filamentous microorganisms. Experience with downstream processing (DSP) and microbial biomass or product recovery. Experience with fermentation scale‑up and technology transfer is a plus. Experience managing R&D vendors, CROs, CDMOs, or other external technical partners is a plus. Ability to travel up to 10% of the time domestically and internationally (Europe & Africa). Familiarity with GoogleSuite, Excel, Slack and similar tools is a plus. Location: Hybrid, Regular laboratory presence at Oath’s Vacaville, California site (at least 3 days per week). Job Type: Full‑time, exempt position in the United States. At this time, Oath, Inc. is not able to provide visa sponsorship or work authorization support. Compensation: $100,000 - $130,000/year + equity Health insurance Paid time off Stock options As set forth in Oath’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows: A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability. A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service. An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense. An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985. Voluntary Self-Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file. Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250‑0005 Expires 07/31/2029 Why are you being asked to complete this form? We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years. Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at . How do you know if you have a disability? A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to: Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally) Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS Blind or low vision Cancer (past or present) Cardiovascular or heart disease Celiac disease Cerebral palsy Deaf or serious difficulty hearing Diabetes Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders Epilepsy or other seizure disorder Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome Intellectual or developmental disability Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD Missing limbs or partially missing limbs Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) Neurodivergence, for example, attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities Partial or complete paralysis (any cause) Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema Short stature (dwarfism) Traumatic brain injury #J-18808-Ljbffr