Technical Director

Technical Director
Product & Application Development

AboutLygos

Lygos is an industrial biotechnology company developing biobased sustainable solutions to improve everyday products. Our technology platform enables better economics and unlocks the power of sustainable specialty chemicals, enabling our partners to offer sustainable alternatives to legacy petroleum-based chemicals and materials. Lygos recently launched its Soltellus polyaspartic acid product line with applications in personal care, home care, water treatment and agricultural applications. Ecoteria products based on malonic acid derivatives have applications in fragrances as well as for coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE).

About the Position

The Technical Director, Product & Application Development will be joining at an exciting and pivotal time for the company and have overall responsibility for product and application development to support our commercial launch in close collaboration with the business, operations and technology teams. The Technical Director will be responsible for directing a technical team, including engineers and researchers, to develop commercially ready products that address current and emerging customer needs and meet business goals. The candidate will oversee Lygos Product Development and Application Development labs, while maintaining relationships with external labs to augment Lygos capabilities. The position will require close collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to develop innovative products that support the business strategy, profitability and growth objectives while ensuring products can be produced reproducibly at scale, meeting customer needs. The Technical Director is expected to manage the communication between the multidisciplinary interfaces to ensure customer needs and application performance requirements are translated into clearly articulated product property requirements and the associated underlying polymer structures.

Role & Responsibilities:

• Hire and manage a 7-10 member Product and Application Development team composed of polymer scientists and engineers, product and application development technicians and supporting personnel.
• Expand the capabilities of the current product development and application laboratories, acquire new capabilities to support the development efforts and manage the physical facilities according to current safety, environmental and quality standards.
• Leverage existing market information, IP and customer feedback to identify key trends and develop a technology roadmap to support the strategic business objectives.
• Implement formulation optimizations relevant to customers applications and provide new insights to customers to increase the performance/cost of their final products.
• Develop core competencies in polyaspartate chemistry including polymerization, crosslinking and chemical derivatization.
• Communicate and cooperate with the business development team and participate in the presentation of product and application technical results both externally and internally.
• Foster a culture of nimble innovation within the organization, focused on delivering products and results that support the business objectives.
• Work closely with the business development team and segment managers to prioritize product and application development projects and goals in line with emerging industry trends, customer needs and key business success metrics.
• Support both customer and internal complaint analysis in collaboration with the QA function.
• Manage technical aspects of joint development agreements (JDA's) with business partners, external institutes and universities and stimulate technical competitive knowledge within the team.
• Attend industry conferences, trade shows and other events to generate leads and engage with customers.
• Provide technical sales support to the business development team, especially during early customer and development partner meetings.
• Establish cross-functional/multi-level relationships with customers to foster collaboration and new product innovation.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Minimum Master's level degree, preferred Ph.D in Polymer Science, Polymer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science or related engineering degree.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in product and application development of ionic water-soluble polymers and hydrogels and their associated applications such as detergent builders, metal complexing, rheology modifiers and super-absorbents.
• Experience with CASE formulations will be an added advantage.
• Specific experience in conversion and derivatization processes of water-soluble polymers such as crosslinking and functionalization.
• A proven track record of leadership, people management and technical achievement.
• Good understanding of structure property relationship and use of design of experiments and other statistical tools to analyze data and patterns.
• Passion for taking new products to market with a strong interest in sustainability.
• Highly motivated and tenacious, committed to deliver the products to the market meeting challenging timelines.

Compensation and Benefits:Lygos offers highly competitive salaries, stock options, bonus and benefits, including medical and dental insurance, unlimited paid time off, and 401(k).

Salary Range: $225,000-$275,000/yr, Actual pay will vary based on various factors, including but not limited to location, skill, experience, and performance.

The benefits and stock purchase described above are subject to the terms and conditions of any governing plans, policies, practices, agreements, or other materials or documents as in effect from time to time, including but not limited to terms and conditions regarding eligibility.

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. Lygos may agree to sponsor an individual for an employment visa now or in the future if there is a shortage of individuals with particular skills for this job.

Location information:

Lygos is headquartered in Berkeley, CA with an Application Lab is located in San Diego, CA. Our new state-of-the-art research center will open in Hayward, CA during 2024 where the product and application development will also be located.

Lygos, Inc. does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.