PhD Position Monitoring and Control of Bench-scale CHO Cell Culture (Biotechnology)

TL;DR

PhD Position Monitoring and Control of Bench-scale CHO Cell Culture (Biotechnology): Developing real-time monitoring and automated control of process flows in bench-scale CHO cell cultures for monoclonal antibody production with an accent on PAT monitoring models and process optimization. Focus on designing automated steering strategies and integrating wet lab data acquisition with dry lab spectroscopy-based modeling.

Location: Onsite in Delft, Netherlands. Relocation to the Netherlands is required.

Salary: €3,059 - €3,881 gross per month

Company

hirify.global is a top international university combining science, engineering, and design to address global challenges in energy, climate, mobility, health, and digital society.

What you will do

• Develop real-time monitoring and automated control of process flows in bench-scale CHO cell cultures.
• Create models to monitor key analytes, including nutrients and product quality attributes, in biopharmaceutical processes.
• Implement robust and transferable Process Analytical Technology (PAT) monitoring models.
• Design automated strategies to steer the process towards optimized productivity while maintaining quality.
• Conduct combined wet lab (process development, data acquisition) and dry lab (spectroscopy modeling, control) activities.

Requirements

• MSc degree in biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, biochemical engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Recent experience running bioreactor-based mammalian cell culture processes (e.g., CHO, HEK, Vero).
• Experience with standard biochemical analytical techniques such as HPLC, bioanalyzers, and cell counters.
• Strong English proficiency required for academic communication, courses, and thesis writing.
• Must be based in or be able to relocate to the Netherlands.

Nice to have

• Programming skills for data analysis or modeling (R, Python, Matlab).
• Knowledge of multivariate data analysis, chemometrics, or machine learning.

Culture & Benefits

• 4-year employment period provided as two consecutive contracts.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Customizable compensation package and discounts on health insurance.
• Enrollment in the hirify.global Graduate School with a dedicated Doctoral Education Programme.
• Comprehensive relocation support via the Coming to Delft Service, including social networking and dual career support for partners.

Hiring process

• Submission of a max 2-page CV and 1-page motivation letter.
• Potential informal video call to discuss motivation.
• Formal interview with a committee.
• Knowledge security risk assessment at the final stages.