Are you interested in shaping the future of food by producing new sustainable food ingredients with cutting edge technology and with superb colleagues who are top experts in their field? Onego Bio might be just the place for you.

Onego Bio is a Finnish leading food-biotech company producing animal-free egg protein with precision fermentation. The company's award-winning technology has placed them at the forefront of the industry, having cracked the code to producing bioidentical egg proteins that provide the same taste, functionality, and nutrition but without the poor efficiency and harmful impacts of animal agriculture. Onego Bio is launching its first product Bioalbumen® as an ingredient for the food industry and transforming the food system to meet the urgent sustainability requirements of the world. The company is focused on scaling precision fermentation to industrial scale with the superior Trichoderma reesei production platform.

Founded by alternative protein pioneer Maija Itkonen (CEO) and precision fermentation trailblazer Christopher Landowski (CTO), Onego Bio is a spin-off that salutes the remarkable work done by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland for the next level cellular agriculture products and applications. In April 2024 Onego raised a $40M Series A funding round (one of the largest in the Nordics) for fueling scale up and go-to-market in the US. Since launching, the company has received massive international recognition, including being selected as a winner of Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards. Onego Bio is a founding member of Food Fermentation Europe and Precision Fermentation Alliance US. Get to know us better by exploring our webpage www.onego.bio/about-us   

We are now looking for an experienced Research Scientist to join our R&D team

In this position, you will play an essential role in developing, planning, and carrying out research projects with a project team and contribute towards our greater goal of providing animal free egg protein ingredients to the world. Ultimately, we aim to be part of building a sustainable food system with the help of our partners throughout the world. Towards this goal our R&D team will create microbial production systems for expressing egg white proteins using filamentous fungi.

Your responsibilities as Research Scientist:

Scientific project work in the fields of molecular biology, protein production and fungal biology.
Using your expertise in molecular biology and strain engineering to create excellent fungal production strains for egg white proteins.
Developing strain screening technologies and workflows for filamentous fungi.
Further developing our fungal expression platforms using the newest innovations.
Working with our bioprocess team to improve the strains and bioprocess conditions.

Who we are looking for:

Proven, excellent laboratory skills and experience in molecular biology techniques such as DNA cloning, genome engineering, protein analysis, protein purification, and possibly genome analysis.
Completed MSc or PhD in biotechnology, molecular biology, or related field.
One year or more of experience working with filamentous fungi, or possibly yeast.
Good scientific reporting skills.
Good written and spoken English skills.
Industrial experience working in a biotechnology company would be a big plus.

As a person, we hope that you:

Skillfully and precisely plan and perform experiments.
Self-motivated and willing to take the initiative to get projects accomplished.
Have strong communication and collaboration skills.
Work well with other team members and contribute to a good working environment.
Can tolerate pressure and maintain a good work-life balance.
Are flexible to take on a variety of tasks anticipated in a start-up company.

At Onego Bio, you’ll enjoy: 

Molecular biology with an impact. Onego Bio works on creating cutting-edge microbial protein production systems. Microbial production technology to produce egg white protein shows potential to significantly mitigate environmental impacts up to 90% according to recent study published in Nature Food. The positive impact of our technology does not only contribute positively on the environment but also supply chain stability, global health, food security and animal welfare. Egg is one of the world’s most popular proteins and our team stands to meet the demand in a way that preserves the future of our planet.

Superb colleagues. We offer working in a passionate environment within a fun and diverse team who want to make an impact in the world. With Onego Bio, you will join a dedicated group of top experts in their respective fields who foster a culture of trust, openness, and sharing ideas.

Competitive salary. We want to attract the best people, so we will provide competitive salaries.

Nordic work–life balance. Working in Finland, the happiest country in the world, enables a high quality of life. At Onego Bio, we make our people’s well-being a priority. We offer 6 weeks paid vacation a year, among other benefits including extended occupational healthcare, and exercise and culture benefits.

Apply now and join our community of brilliant minds!

Please send your CV and application letter as soon as possible but at the latest by 16th of June 2024. We will process applications as they come in and fill the position as soon as we find the right candidate.

Interested and want to hear more?

For further information, please contact Head of Biology, Taija Leinonen +358 44 493 8253 on 21.05.2024 at 10:30 – 11:00 and on 11.06.2024 at 10:30 – 11:00.

Read more about our past work on the topic: 

https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/01/animal-free-egg-protein-onego-bio-40m/

https://www.hs.fi/visio/art-2000010306262.html

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/onego-bio-series-a-funding-precision-fermentation-egg-protein-gras/

https://www.fastcompany.com/90878786/onego-bio-bioalbumen-animal-free-egg-whites

https://foodmatterslive.com/article/precision-fermentation/

https://agfundernews.com/onego-bio-ceo-makes-the-case-for-animal-free-egg-proteins

https://www.eu-startups.com/2022/03/10-fantastic-fast-growing-finnish-startups-to-watch-in-2022/

https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/ovatko-tassa-suomen-seuraavat-kasvuraketit-talouselaman-lista-paljastaa-10-kiinnostavinta-startupia/2dcba57f-b63d-41f4-82d8-0e9689c57e5b

https://sifted.eu/articles/foodtech-startups-to-watch/

https://www.onego.bio/press/our-news/seed-round

https://www.onego.bio/press/our-news/additional-funding