En­gin­eer for pro­cess technology de­vel­op­ment

Updated: over 2 years ago
Deadline: 10 Oct 2021

Finland was ranked for the fourth consecutive year as the happiest nation in the world (UN’s 2020 World happiness report). The University of Helsinki in Finland is a multidisciplinary research university that ranks among the best in the world and the top ten among European universities. The Department of Physics at the Faculty of Science is a large and multidisciplinary department that offers the most varied university program in the physical sciences in Finland.

Faculty of Science invites applications for

ENGINEER FOR PROCESS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

with strong background in industrial projects on batch-to-continuous and lab-to-pilot scale production process scaling up involving heat transfer. We are seeking an expert to be hired in Electronics Laboratory for joining 2-year research-to-business OleoFlow project aiming for spin-off commercialization. The position will start from January 2022 or as agreed. The OleoFlow develops a novel fat substitute with tailored health benefits for primary use in food industry, aiming for impact in the obesity pandemic of modern societies.

We seek a process technology expert with experience in industrial R&D projects. We expect a solid background in heat and mass transfer balance, FEM simulations, CAD, and process design and development. The candidate should have experience in building automated production lines for the food industry, and the ability to design continuous processes and scale them up (from lab to pilot scale). Experience in food industry and startups is appreciated.

As a part of the OleoFlow project you will be involved in the R&D of oleogels (substitutes for solid fats) continuous production process where heating and cooling play a major role in defining the characteristics of the final product. The process will be able to modify the microstructure of oleogels during their formation (i.e., crystallization) applying ultrasonic standing waves.

Your tasks include leading the development of the continuous process for oleogel production considering the challenges in batch-to-continuous process development, lab-to-pilot process scaling up, and process automation. In the oleogel production process mainly lipids and temperature control (isothermal and heating-cooling ramps) are of paramount importance. The process features also an ultrasonic standing wave treatment.

The position will be a fixed-term period of until end of the project (tentatively 17 months), with opportunity to continue with the OleoFlow team in the possible spin-off scenario based on appointees’ performance. The salary will depend on the appointees’ qualifications and experience and is based on demand level 10 of the Finnish universities salary system scales for laboratory engineer (other staff), starting from ca. 3700 euros/month. Furthermore, the University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including occupational health care and health insurance and sports facilities.

Research environment

The Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) is a research laboratory of the Department of Physics focusing on high impact, new applied physics, and industry-oriented R&D solutions. Combining sound and light, we create novel instruments for a wide range of interdisciplinary fields, ranging from pharmaceutical science to food, heavy industry, and to space applications. Our focus is on designing and developing state-of-the-art measurement instrumentation solutions and devices for research and industrial production process purposes. Lately we have expanded our expertise to FEM-based physics simulation modelling to provide in-silica R&D tools for the industry and academia.

To us, commercial and societal applicability of our research is important. We have brought many research projects from fundamentals into successful start-up companies, such as the NASDAQ listed Nanoform Finland Oyj, Glucomodicum Oy, and Altum Technologies Oy. We actively seek to expand this list of commercial success stories from our on-going new research projects.

The Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) comprises an international group of physicists, consisting of roughly 20 students and senior researchers.

Finland is a member of the EU, has high-quality free schooling (also in English), generous family benefits and healthcare, and was recently ranked as the best country in the world for expat families and Helsinki in the world’s top ten most livable cities. Finland and the Helsinki region possess top expertise in sciences in terms of a vibrant talent pool, leading research, strong support services and functioning collaboration networks. For more information about working at the University of Helsinki and living in Finland, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/university/working-at-the-university .

How to apply

Please apply with a motivation letter, CV and list of publications in a single pdf file and submit the documents using the University of Helsinki Recruitment System by clicking the “Apply for the position” -button below. Applicants who are employees of the University of Helsinki are requested to leave their application by signing to https://msap.helsinki.fi .

Deadline for applications is 10th of October 2021.

For further information, please contact docent Fabio Valoppi, fabio.valoppi(at)helsinki.fi, professor Ari Salmi, ari.salmi(at)helsinki.fi, or project planning officer Anton Nolvi, anton.nolvi(at)helsinki.fi.



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