Careers
Work on something that has to survive contact with a fermenter.
We are a small microalgae biotechnology team in Faro, Portugal. The work is hands-on, it happens in a real laboratory, and what comes out of it goes to industrial partners rather than into a drawer.
Spontaneous applications
We do not always have a posted opening. Write to us anyway.
Our team grows in steps, usually when a new project starts or a process reaches a scale that needs another pair of hands. That means the right person often gets in touch before there is an advert to answer.
So we keep spontaneous applications on file and we read all of them. If your background fits something we are about to start, we will come back to you, and we will tell you honestly if we cannot.
What we look for
Less about the title on your CV, more about how you work
You are comfortable at the bench
Most of what we do is practical. Cultures, bioreactors, analytics and the discipline to record what you did well enough that someone else can repeat it.
You think in processes, not experiments
A result that only works once is not a result. The interesting question is always whether it will hold at the next scale.
You work across disciplines
Biology, engineering and commercial reality sit close together in a team this size. Nobody stays in their lane for long.
You would rather ask than assume
We are developing things nobody has a protocol for. Saying “I do not know yet, here is how I would find out” is the useful answer.
Backgrounds we usually have room for
- Microalgae biotechnology
- Fermentation and bioprocess development
- Strain development
- Analytical chemistry
- Downstream processing
- Laboratory operations
- Data and process modelling
Where you would work
A laboratory in Faro, and a team small enough that your work is visible
Our bioprocess laboratory is at CRIA, University of the Algarve, on the Gambelas campus in Faro. It is a working laboratory rather than a demonstration one, with strain development, fermentation and analytical work happening side by side.
Being small has trade-offs and we will not pretend otherwise. You will have real responsibility early, you will see your work reach industrial partners, and you will also do your share of the unglamorous jobs that keep a laboratory running.
We work in English day to day. Portuguese is useful but not required.
How to apply
Three things in one email
- Send your CV to Career@phycoferm.com. A PDF is fine, and it does not need to be designed.
- Tell us what you want to work on in a few lines. Which part of this interests you, and what you would like to be better at in two years.
- Say when you could start and whether you need a visa or a work permit for Portugal, so we can be realistic with you from the beginning.
We read applications as they arrive and reply to the ones we can take further. If we keep your details on file we will tell you, and you can ask us to remove them at any time.
Tell us what you want to work on
One email, a CV, and a few lines about what interests you. That is enough to start a conversation.
PhycoFerm Lda., Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Pavilhao B1, Faro, Portugal