Do you want to support sustainable chemical production worldwide?
If you are motivated towards guiding innovation by quantifying impacts of bio-based products and you are looking for an opportunity, where you can unfold your skills to support a viable bioeconomy, you have it right here.
As an internationally reputed elite university, DTU is at the forefront of innovation related to “the sustainable transition”. At the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain), we are specifically looking for new ways to support the sustainable production of bio-chemicals, and that is why we need you and all of your good skills across techno-economic assessment and process modeling.
The project is aimed towards guiding fundamental research to commercially viable technologies that will contribute towards sustainable bio-based chemical production – just like your opportunities for learning and development. Please note that the position is a projects assignment to end by 31.12.2025.
Guide innovation by assessing technical and economic viability of projects
Your job is to support the vision of sustainable bio-chemical production. You will do so by designing and developing strategies for innovation, to guide the R&D activities for the global bio-chemical industry. Specifically, you will be responsible to evaluate economic viability of technologies at various stages of development to screen and subsequently, optimize these to address the needs of society and requirements from stakeholders.
Your primary tasks will be to:
- Work with internal and external partners to get costing information.
- Provide recommendations with respect to improving the viability of processes (upstream and downstream).
- Being one of the key persons, responsible to screen projects, it is expected of you to suggest suitable assessment workflows, based on the Technology Readiness Level (TRL).
- You will be responsible to develop process models in AspenPlus® and SuperPro® and maintain simulations during the development phases.
- Support risk management by running sensitivity analysis (Monte Carlo) to advise the prioritization of risk-mitigation activities.
- Manage projects and discussions with the pre-pilot plant, commercial and patent officers to understand bottlenecks and provide suggestions to circumvent potential hurdles.
- Integrate economic data with environmental impacts to guide projects by illustrating trade-offs and optimization potential.
Your ideas and inputs e.g. new methods, tools and analysis are highly welcomed.
Education in chemical engineering with sound understanding of thermodynamics
We are looking for a profile with the motivation and drive needed for making a difference that matters. As you will join a multidisciplinary team, you must bring a flexible and adaptable mindset. Additionally, you must like to create results via collaboration with people with different professional and cultural backgrounds. To succeed, it is also important that you thrive on making decisions based on limited information. Additionally, your CV comprises of:
- Education (masters or higher) as a chemical engineer.
- 3 or more years of hands-on experience in controlling operations in a production or pilot facility.
- Skilled in performing mass and energy balances, generating conceptual process configurations and performing simulations in AspenPlus® and SuperPro®.
- Track-record of generating thermodynamic parameters, collecting operational/experimental data and coupling it with process simulators to evaluate impacts of a scaled-up operation.
Sustainable Innovation Office – your new team
You will join a small and agile team of four skilled and dedicated professionals. Our focus is to guide innovation at an early stage by assessing benefits (economic, environmental and societal) of developed bio-based technologies. Our goal is to develop sustainable technologies that lead to strategic collaborations and commercial packages. Our work environment is informal and characterised by knowledge sharing, respect, trust and room for having a good time together – naturally balanced with creating tangible results. Now we are just looking forward to welcoming you to the team.
Salary and terms of employment
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.
Application and contact
Please submit your online application no later than 17 November 2020 (Danish time). Open the “Apply online” link, fill out the form and attach CV, cover letter and diploma as one PDF file.
Please apply at www.career.dtu.dk
If you have any questions, you are very welcome to contact Team Leader, Sumesh Sukumara at susu@biosustain.dtu.dk.
All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain)
Recent progress in our ability to read and write genomic code, combined with advances in automation, analytics and data science, has fundamentally changed the scope and ambition of harnessing the potential of biological systems. Big data approaches and analysis of biological systems are key research instruments at the Center. DTU Biosustain utilizes these advances for microbial cell factory design to foster sustainable lifestyles in relation to three application areas: Sustainable Chemicals, Natural Products, and Microbial Foods.
Learn more at https://www.biosustain.dtu.dk/.
*Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear vision to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That vision lives on today. DTU has 12,000 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. Our main campus is in Kgs. Lyngby north of Copenhagen and we have campuses in Roskilde and Ballerup and in Sisimiut in Greenland.**
