R&D Scientist - Functional Ingredients Fermentation & Bioprocess

1. About Our Company and Brand

We are the Hong Kong R&D Center of Mom's Garden GmbH, the research arm of a functional-nutrition group with annual sales exceeding HKD 4 billion.

Our brands — Inne (因你), PrincessLuna (月神) and Mom's Garden (百草園 / 任我行) — are sold through JD.com, Tmall and other major platforms, and through pharmacies in Hong Kong, Macau and overseas markets.

Our products are available at the following online stores:

Inne JD Official Flagship Store: https://mall.jd.hk/index-1000078334.html

PrincessLuna JD Official Flagship Store: https://mall.jd.hk/index-1000185863.html

Mom's Garden JD Official Flagship Store: https://mall.jd.hk/index-1000331398.html

2. About HK R&D Center

Our Hong Kong R&D Center specializes in:

1. Functional ingredient & formulation development, with a strategic focus on fermentation-based ingredients;
2. Efficacy evaluation - in vitro, cellular, tissue and animal models;
3. Academic collaboration with universities and research institutes.

Facilities & Resources:

1. Overall experimental conditions: the Hong Kong R&D Center has an big independent laboratory, and the mainland branch has a huge laboratory of over 50,000 square feet.
2. Fermentation-related equipment: shake flasks, benchtop fermenters, centrifuges, freeze dryers, etc., as well as large-scale fermentation production partners.
3. Chemical analysis equipment: High performance liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, etc.
4. Efficacy evaluation criteria: Cell and tissue experiments are conducted internally, while animal experiments are conducted through the branch company's animal center or a CRO.

3. About this Job

This role is positioned as a Scientific Specialist in our Fermentation Ingredient Development.

Within 3–5 years, the candidate is expected to develop into a core technical expert in fermentation platform, and take charge of technical management in that field.

1. Development of Fermentation Ingredients: Lead the R&D projects of functional fermentation ingredients (fermented botanical extracts, biotransformation of natural products, postbiotics, probiotic metabolites) , and support their scale-up process development. The ingredient application area will target one of the following: bone health, eye and brain health, gut health, reproductive health.
2. Efficacy Evaluation: Design and run efficacy studies at the appropriate experimental level. Translate the experimental evidence into consumer-facing claims.
3. Academic collaboration: Take charge of collaborative projects(e.s. ITC project) with universities and research institutes, and oversee project direction and progress.
4. Research Output: Publish academic papers and file patent applications based on the aforementioned R&D achievements.

4. Our Work Location

Hong Kong Science Park, Sha Tin, Hong Kong (shuttle bus supported, 30-40min to Shenzhen border)

5. What We Offer

1. Work visa sponsorship provided
2. Friendly and supportive research environment
3. Opportunity to gain hands-on experience in commercial projects worth over HKD 100 million

6.Who We're Looking For

1. Educational Requirements: PhD or postdocs in Fermentation Engineering, Microbiology, Bioengineering, Biotechnology, Food Biotechnology or a related field. Or MSc with ≥3 years of industrial / institutional R&D experience in fermentation.
2. Research Experience: Candidates should have experience of fermentation research projects, or a related field such as biotransformation, metabolic engineering.
3. Qualifications: Candidates should have the ability to design and conduct experimental studies in at least one of: fermentation and scale-up research, cellular, tissue, animal model, extraction, formulation development.