Company Description & Purpose

Allonnia’s purpose is the pursuit of imaginative solutions to solve the world’s toughest waste challenges through biology.  Allonnia is leveraging the power of  biotechnology and engineered systems to degrade or sequester pollutants and upcycle waste. Our ethos at Allonnia is to work in harmony with nature, combining biology and technology to fast forward time and bring Nature’s future solutions to the present day. Through this collaboration we will unlock the potential in waste and enable a world where nothing is wasted. Allonnia is backed by Battelle, Ginkgo Bioworks, Viking Global, General Atlantic, EVOK and Cascade Investments.

Mission of the Position

The Mission of this position is to advance the extraction and purification processes of mining ores through a multifaceted approach:

1. Design and Implement Innovative Solubilization Techniques: Develop innovative solubilization methods to selectively remove impurities and gangue materials from targeted mining ores ultimately enhancing ore grades. Develop method for the precipitation of various elements from the solubilized solution.

2. Exploration of organic Acids and Chemicals/Biomolecules: Investigate the efficacy of various organic acids, chemicals, and biomolecules in selectively solubilizing minerals within the ore, aiming for improved resource recovery.

This is a full-time position, with approximately 85% of the time dedicated to hands-on laboratory work and 15% allocated for project management, data analysis, and reporting duties.

Measurable Accountabilities

Project Scoping 

• Collaboratively design scope of all technical projects using experimental design principles
• All projects have clearly defined fast fail milestones with Go/No-go
• All projects have documented risks and mitigation plans

Project Execution & Management

• Manage 2-3 laboratory projects at the same time

• Achieving 80%+ of key milestones on time and on budget or go/no go decision

• Document work, procedures, observations, and results

Communication

• Develop cadence and clear communication of progress on experiments
• Embrace transparency; communicate early and often 
• Consistent and clear communication to Allonnia technical team
• Demonstrate good written communication skills for findings and reports

Brand Advancement

• Present at 1-2 conferences/associations per year 
• Represent Allonnia with outside labs
• Foster technical relationships with development partners

Debrief & Learning

• Documentation of work, procedures, observations, and results done throughout the project
• All experiments upon completion (or at critical phases) will have a debrief with the team
• Debrief summary and learnings will documented

Reporting & Papers 

• Contributing to 1 technical paper per year

Key Criteria/Requirements

1. Educational Background: A Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or a related field is preferred. However, candidates with a master's degree and equivalent experience will also be considered. Familiarity with mining applications is desirable.
2. Industrial Expertise: Preferred experience in chemical or biochemical extraction of metal ions from mining ores, such as acid or heap leaching.
3. Project Management: Demonstrated experience in successfully managing projects to achieve their objectives, or the ability to make informed decisions regarding project discontinuation when necessary.
4. Lab Commitment: Willingness to commit approximately 85% of working hours to laboratory activities, including research, experimentation, and analysis.

Allonnia Core Values

Purposeful: Committing to work on the right things as individuals and as a company, making a difference every day

Entrepreneurial: Working with passion and curiosity to learn every day, creatively delivering results to the world

Transparent: Fostering a high trust environment that embraces constructive debate, achieving success together

Key Competencies

• Analysis Skills

• Creativity

• Resourcefulness/Initiative

• Organization/Planning

• Listening

• Team Player

• Communications – Oral/Written 

JOB CODE: 1000050