Position description

The protein transition encompasses a world-wide effort to reduce the environmental footprint of food and feed protein production. Cellular Agriculture (CA) is a promising new concept for achieving this goal. One of the key thrusts in CA is the development of new, alternative routes for meat production by cultivating mammalian stem cells. This new approach has a tremendous potential for reducing the carbon footprint, water usage and environmental impact of meat producing. However, cultivating stem cells at very large scale required to provide sustainable and affordable meat for a large part of the human population raises significant technological challenges. To address these challenges, the Biotechnology Department of TU Delft is expanding its cell culture activities to include CA, as part of the National Growth Fund CA program.

In order to support these new and exciting research activities, we seek to hire a cell culture/fermentation technician. The position will be at the Bioprocess Engineering (BPE) section of the Department of Biotechnology. The BPE section investigates mammalian cell culture processes, advanced bioprocess monitoring, microbial fermentation and process design for upstream and downstream processing. The new colleague will closely collaborate with other technicians in the BPE section and in the Department, as well as with academic staff members and students.

Activities

• Assisting in adapting and extending an existing cell culture lab for CA-oriented research.
• Maintaining the laboratory infrastructure for cell-culture research.
• Preparing media
• Running small and medium scale cell cultures
• Performing cell culture related analysis and maintaining analytical equipment.
• Documenting and reporting experimental results. Maintaining data logs and electronic lab journals.
• Instructing, coaching and supporting postdocs, PhD candidates and BSc students in designing and executing cell-culture experiments.
• Participating in section/department staff meetings and project meetings.

The ideal candidate is an ambitious, creative, proactive, reflective, and result-driven technician. We are looking for the following requirements:

• Completed HBO-level education in biochemical engineering, biotechnology, food biotechnology or similar programme.
• Hands-on experience and expertise in cultivation of mammalian cells is a must; experience with working with stem cells is an advantage.
• Experience with bioreactor cultivation
• Knowledge of (high-end advanced) analytical techniques for mammalian cell culture.
• Able and eager to work in a culturally diverse and multidisciplinary team
• Strong communication skills; fluent in Dutch and English

• A salary according to the Collective Labor Agreement of the Dutch Universities, plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Applied Sciences

With more than 1,100 employees, including 150 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,600 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we educate innovative students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

Biotechnology

Innovation is crucial to fulfil the potential of industrial biotechnology for sustainable production of fuels, chemicals, materials, food and feed. Similarly, scientific and technological advances in environmental biotechnology are needed to enable novel approaches to water purification, and ‘waste-to-product’ processes thus contributing to a circular economy. Increased fundamental knowledge encompassing enzymes, microorganisms and processes are essential for progress in this field. The Department of Biotechnology covers this research area and, based on new insights, selects, designs and tests new biobased catalysts, micro-organisms, and processes.