Company: NoPalm Ingredients

About the job

As the Lead Chemical Analyst, you will play a key role in building, organizing, and executing the analytical strategy within our rapidly growing fermentation startup. You will lead a small team of laboratory technicians responsible for method development and execution, sample preparation, routine analytics, and data reporting. This role combines hands-on analytical work with leadership responsibilities, driving analytical excellence across R&D and production environments.

The main focus of the role:

  • Lead, mentor, and develop a small team of analytical technicians & interns.
  • Plan and prioritize daily, weekly, and project based analytical workloads.
  • Ensure efficient execution of sample analysis, documentation, and reporting.
  • Foster a culture of safety, quality, and continuous improvement in the laboratory.
  • Develop, optimize, and validate analytical methods relevant to bio-processes (e.g., HPLC, GC, etc).
  • Troubleshoot analytical issues and ensure high-quality, reliable data
  • Ensuring proper calibration, maintenance, and performance of analytical instruments.
  • Interpret complex analytical data and ensure accurate and timely reporting of results, trends, and deviations
  • Create, implement and maintain analytical SOPs, work instructions, and documentation.
  • Work closely with fermentation scientists, microbiologists, downstream processing teams, and product & application development.
  • Provide analytical input for experimental designs, process optimization, and troubleshooting.
  • Support scaleup activities with robust analytical guidance.

Requirements

  • An MSc or PhD (or equivalent) in Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Technology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, or related field.
  • 4–6 years of hands‑on R&D analytical laboratory experience, preferably in an industrial bioprocess environment, such as in fermentation, biotechnology, food, biobased materials
  • Experience leading or mentoring junior staff or technicians.
  • Strong proficiency with analytical equipment, such as chromatography and spectrometry.
  • Solid understanding of fermentation-related analyses (e.g., organic acids, lipids, sugars, biomass indicators).
  • Solid understanding of microbiological analytical methods (e.g. plate counts, microscopy, phenotype identification, enzyme assays)
  • Data analysis and interpretation
  • Knowledge and expertise of lipid and fats chemistry, such as analytical technologies for lipid characterization, lipids and fats functionality and physical properties, lipid oxidation and stability

The candidate

You are a proactive and self-motivated individual who thrives in collaborative team settings, while leading others effectively. Your meticulous attention to detail ensures high-quality results in all your work. You have strong organizational skills and are able to set priorities effectively. You communicate clearly and can translate analytical results into meaningful insights. You have a genuine passion for the foodtech industry and sustainability, driving you to contribute meaningfully to our mission.

Experience level: Senior

How to apply: send your CV and motivation to lars.langhout@nopalm-ingredients.com