Pilot & Scale-Up Engineer

ABOUT CELLESTE BIO

Celleste Bio is a cocoa-tech company producing real cocoa ingredients from plant cell cultures - growing cocoa without cocoa trees. By combining plant cell biology, bioprocess engineering and data-driven development, we are building a sustainable, scalable and climate-resilient supply of one of chocolate’s most essential ingredients.

We are now entering one of the most important phases in the company’s journey: translating promising lab-scale biology into a stable, measurable and reproducible pilot process.

To help drive this transition on the ground, we are looking for a hands-on Pilot & Scale-Up Engineer to work closely with our VP Engineering and build the bridge between lab-scale protocols and pilot-scale production.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As our Pilot & Scale-Up Engineer, you will bring Celleste’s cocoa cell-culture process from the lab into reliable pilot-scale operation. You will run and improve pilot systems, turn lab protocols into structured, repeatable runs, read what the process is telling you through its data, resolve deviations, and feed every learning back into a stronger process.

This role lives close to the equipment, the biology and the data. It is built for someone who enjoys both running the system and improving it - operating with care, asking sharp questions, documenting clearly, and helping shape a process that can grow from liters today to industrial scale tomorrow.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Operate, monitor and troubleshoot bioreactor and cell-culture process systems through pilot-scale runs - including single-use and airlift bioreactors as volumes grow from liters toward hundreds of liters.

• Translate lab-scale protocols into structured pilot run plans, batch records, checklists and operating procedures.

• Plan, execute and document biomass growth and cocoa-butter production runs, ensuring data integrity, traceability and reproducibility.

• Collect, analyze and interpret process data - growth performance, yield, process conditions, contamination risk and run-to-run variability - and turn it into decisions.

• Identify deviations, investigate root causes, and recommend practical improvements, working with the VP Engineering on process and equipment.

• Support scale-up and process optimization across cell culture, bioreactor operation and downstream steps, using structured optimization (e.g. DoE) rather than trial and error.

• Help build the operating standards that make pilot runs repeatable: SOPs, run sheets, deviation reports and clean handovers.

• Support tech transfer - preparing the process, data and documentation needed to move production to external partners and CDMOs.

WHAT YOU BRING - CORE REQUIREMENTS

• B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Bioprocess Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Food Engineering, Biology or a related field.

• 2–5 years of hands-on experience in bioprocessing, fermentation, process development, pilot operations or scale-up.

• Practical experience operating bioreactors, fermenters or comparable process equipment.

• The ability to work hands-on with equipment while thinking analytically about process performance.

• A rigorous, data-driven approach to experimentation, documentation, troubleshooting and improvement.

• Comfort working in a fast-moving startup where priorities evolve and practical problem-solving is part of the job.

• Strong communication and documentation skills in Hebrew and English.

STRONG ADVANTAGES

• Experience with plant cell culture.

• Experience in food-tech, biotech, fermentation, ingredients or cell-based production.

• Experience with single-use bioreactors, or working in sterile or contamination-sensitive process environments.

• Experience in pilot-plant or production-scale settings.

• Familiarity with food quality systems, HACCP, GMP-like practices or regulatory requirements.

• Experience writing SOPs, batch records or deviation reports, and with process analytics.

• Experience in early-stage environments where systems and routines are still being built.

HOW YOU WORK

• You are hands-on, practical and precise - patient enough to operate carefully, curious enough to understand what the process is telling you.

• You enjoy troubleshooting unclear failures and turning observations into working improvements.

• You keep scientists, engineers and operators aligned, and keep the process moving even when information is incomplete.

• You take ownership without needing heavy structure around you, and you keep documentation disciplined under changing priorities.

• You are energized by building something from the ground up and seeing your work become part of a real production process.

WHY JOIN US

Join Celleste at a rare and consequential stage: the point where breakthrough biology becomes a real, scalable process. You will work close to the science, the equipment and the data, with meaningful ownership over how cultured cocoa moves from lab protocols to pilot production.

Here, your work is visible, practical and consequential. You will not only run pilot processes - you will help shape how they are built, and help create the industrial foundation for a new category in food.

Location & How to Apply

Full-time, on-site at Celleste Bio’s facilities in Northern Israel.

Send your CV here on Linkedin or to [email protected].

*** Only applications that include a cover letter will be considered.

Celleste Bio is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds.