About Us 

REDUCED is at the forefront of B2B upcycling, pioneering fermentation technologies that transform food industry side streams into high-quality savoury ingredients. Our mission is to elevate the power of gastronomic sciences to food industry quality standards while creating value in the circular food industry. 

As a growing food-tech startup, we’re seeking a Solid-State Fermentation Engineer to help us optimize and expand our technological platform — ensuring better quality, higher output, and stronger process control at scale. 

Position Overview 

In this role, you’ll take the lead on optimizing REDUCED’s solid-state fermentation processes. From fine-tuning fungal culture conditions to implementing robust process control systems, you’ll be responsible for lifting quality, reproducibility, and efficiency across lab, pilot, and production scales. Laying the foundation for the scaling up of SSF capacity and developing the capabilities. 

This is a hands-on, cross-functional role involving lab R&D (KU FOOD), pilot productions in Nordhavn (Copenhagen) and design of new factory capabilities. 

Key Responsibilities 

Process Control and Quality 

• Develop and implement process control systems for consistent product quality for both final product and throughout the process. 

• Monitor and evaluate koji enzyme production and address technical issues that arise during production. 

• Document and monitor KPIs for process efficacy, yield, and quality. 

Process Optimization and Scale-Up 

• Optimise fermentation conditions to reach the desired titers of fungal enzymes.

• Study the impact of different culture conditions and strain-substrate interactions on fungal metabolism and fungal secretome. 

• Scale fermentation processes from lab (1 to 5 kg) to pilot production (500 to 1000 kg), ensuring robust transfer protocols.  

Technology Development 

• Collaborate with R&D and Operations to expand REDUCED’s fermentation capabilities. 

• Assess new culture-substrate combination for intense flavour development. 

• Root cause analysis and troubleshooting of production runs. 

Documentation and Data Management: 

• Define detailed process descriptions, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and data sheets to support technology transfer and regulatory submissions. 

• Maintain accurate records of experimental designs, results, and process modifications, ensuring data integrity and traceability. 

Success Criteria 

• Improve flavour intensity and reproducibility of solid-state fermentation products. 

• Model intense flavour development through robust data driven, statistical approaches. 

• Set-up cross-functional alignment to meet the project targets and ensure the building of strong fermentation capabilities in REDUCED 

• Deliver fermentation scale-up and optimization projects on schedule, supporting the company's new product development (NPD) and operational goals.  

• Demonstrate the flavour potential of fungal enzymes to outcompete commercial products. 

Qualifications 

• Master’s degree (or higher) in Biochemical Engineering, Food Biotechnology, Fermentation Science, or related field. 

• 7+ years of hands-on, industry experience with solid-state fermentation (SSF) process development and scale-up. 

• Demonstrated experience with fungal biomass and enzymes production for flavour development. 

• Proficiency in data analysis and statistical process control tools. 

• Strong skills in process control, monitoring systems, and optimization techniques. 

Benefits 

• Make a direct impact by shaping the future of REDUCED’s fermentation platform. 

• Competitive salary with performance incentives. 

• Flexible working environment in Copenhagen’s Frederiksberg/Nordhavn neighbourhoods. 

• Opportunity to join a mission-driven startup on its way to deliver impact at scale through fermentation 

Application Process 

Send your CV and cover letter (in the same pdf document) highlighting your experience in solid-state fermentation, process optimization, and scale-up. Please include examples of previous work that improved output, quality, or process control.