Internship: Plant Cell Culture Process Development R&D (Biotechnology)

Location: hirify.global HQ, Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium; on-site laboratory work

Company

hirify.global is an international Belgian family business developing and producing innovative ingredients for the bakery, patisserie, and chocolate sectors.

What you will do

• Cultivate differentiated plant cells under sterile conditions in laboratory- and pilot-scale bioreactors.
• Optimize media composition, inoculation density, agitation, aeration, and culture duration for biomass production.
• Monitor and quantify cell growth and physiological parameters.
• Perform routine sampling and basic analytical measurements related to cell growth.
• Apply aseptic laboratory practices, document experiments, and contribute to data interpretation and reporting.

Requirements

• Master’s student or final-year Bachelor’s student in bioengineering, biotechnology, bioscience engineering, biochemical engineering, plant biotechnology, or industrial biotechnology.
• Hands-on wet-lab experience and familiarity with microbiological or cell culture techniques.
• Experience working under sterile or aseptic conditions.
• Motivation to work experimentally in a laboratory, independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Interest in bioprocess development and scale-up.
• English proficiency is required; English is the working language.

Nice to have

• Experience with plant cells, microbial cultures, or bioreactors.

Culture & Benefits

• Hands-on experience in applied R&D and industrial biotechnology.
• Exposure to product-oriented research and scalable process development.
• Mentoring from experienced R&D scientists within a multidisciplinary research team.
• The project may be adapted to support a master’s thesis, depending on the internship duration and student background.
• Internship starts in September 2026 and preferably lasts six months, with a minimum duration of three months.
• Valid work and residence authorization allowing employment in Belgium is required; work permits and visa applications are not sponsored.