Job Description
Job Description - Lead Process Engineer
Title: Lead Process Engineer – Continuous Flow & Crystallisation (19-month contract)
Location: Remote – minimum 3-hour overlap with U.S. Eastern Time (GMT-4/-5)
Reporting to: Bridge Project Director / Project Manager
Contract Term: June 2025 – December 2026 (with option to extend through commercial ramp-up)
Travel: ≈15 % (design reviews, vendor FATs in South/South-East Asia, site visits to Manus facility)
About the Role
Bridge Business Support Services is building a turnkey, FDA-cGMP artemisinin production line (50 t yr-1) that couples continuous photochemistry with downstream crystallisation and solvent recovery. As Lead Process Engineer you will translate ArtemiFlow’s lab recipe and conceptual engineering package into a fully detailed, operable, and validated process—owning every PFD, P&ID, mass/energy-balance, and scale-up decision from oxygen handling to crystal dryer. You are the technical heartbeat of the programme and the primary interface with the external engineering firm.
Key Responsibilities
Domain
Core Tasks
- Process Design & Scale-up
- Finalise design basis, mass/energy balances, and equipment sizing for 50 t yr-1 throughput
- Basic engineering package
- Generate and maintain PFDs/P&IDs; drive model freeze and design reviews
- Define utility loads (cooling, inert gas, vacuum, solvent recovery)
- Photochemical Reactor Integration
- Specify LED wavelength, photon-flux requirements, oxygen dispersion, and pressure/temperature control
- Liaise with vendor to verify residence-time distribution and light-penetration models
- Crystallisation & Purification
- Optimise quench, phase separation, concentration, seeded crystallisation, filtration, and dryer parameters
- Establish PAT (in-line UV/Vis, Raman, turbidity) and purity acceptance criteria
- HAZOP & Safety
- Lead hazard studies (oxygen service, flammable solvents, photochemical energy)
- Collaborate with HSE Officer to implement inherently safer design and SIL assessments
- GMP & Validation Support
- Define critical process parameters (CPPs) and critical quality attributes (CQAs)
- Provide process narratives, batch records, and data for IQ/OQ/PQ protocol authors
- Vendor Collaboration
- Review datasheets, 3-D models, and FAT protocols for reactors, separators, crystallisers, and dryers
- Resolve technical RFIs, change-control requests, and non-conformances
- Technology Transfer & Training
- Produce operating manuals, flow schematics, and training decks for Manus operations team
- Support first-batch troubleshooting during SAT and performance qualification
Required Qualifications
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (or equivalent)
- 10 + years in API or fine-chemical process-development and plant-startup, including ≥1 continuous-flow scale-up at pilot or commercial level
- Demonstrated expertise in solution crystallisation and downstream solvent recovery
- Hands-on proficiency with Aspen Plus/HYSYS or equivalent process-sim packages and 3-D model interrogation tools (E3D/Navisworks)
- Strong grasp of cGMP, ICH Q7/Q8, and FDA validation expectations for APIs
- Track record leading HAZOP/LOPA for oxygenated or photochemical systems
- Excellent technical writing and virtual-collaboration skills; fluent English
Preferred Extras
- Experience with LED photochemistry or visible-light photocatalysis
- Familiarity with PAT sensor selection, OPC/UA data integration, and 21 CFR Part 11 frameworks
- Six Sigma or DoE background for scale-up optimisation
- Prior work on solvent-recycling or green-chemistry initiatives
What We Offer
- Competitive contract rate or salaried package, invoiced monthly
- Remote-first culture using Odoo, MS Teams, and cloud CAD/viewer suites
- Opportunity to pioneer one of the world’s first large-scale continuous artemisinin plants and make a tangible impact on global malaria treatment supply chains
- Collaborative, multidisciplinary team that values innovation, safety, and accountability
To Apply:
Email a concise CV and a one-page summary of your most relevant flow-chemistry or crystallisation scale-up project—including throughput, technology, and your specific role—to [email protected] with subject line “Lead Process Engineer – Artemisinin Project” by 30 June 2025.
Bridge embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to a safe working environment for all.
