Principal Process Development Engineer – AI-Driven Bioprocess Innovation

A North American AI technology company is seeking a Principal Process Development Engineer with experience in pharmaceutical or biologics manufacturing to help transform how complex manufacturing processes are designed, optimized, and operated.

You will combine your expertise in process development, mechanistic modeling, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing with advanced AI technologies to solve real-world manufacturing challenges. You will work with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop modeling solutions that improve process understanding, efficiency, scalability, and operational performance.

Process Innovation & Customer Engagement

Partner with pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers to deploy AI-driven solutions across process development and manufacturing environments Work with process engineers, scientists, MSAT teams, and operations leaders to identify optimization opportunities Translate complex manufacturing challenges into technical solutions, modeling approaches, and product improvements Support projects from process assessment through implementation and measurable impact Mechanistic Modeling & Technical Problem Solving Analyze experimental and manufacturing data to identify process trends, bottlenecks, and optimization opportunities Develop and apply first-principles, mechanistic, and hybrid models for pharmaceutical manufacturing processes Build dynamic simulations and workflows using fundamental engineering principles combined with data-driven approaches Apply models to support process optimization, scale-up, technology transfer, process control, and manufacturing improvements What You'll Bring 7–10+ years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, process development, MSAT, or related manufacturing environments Experience with laboratory, pilot, or commercial-scale operations Demonstrated experience developing mechanistic models based on fundamental principles, including transport phenomena, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, biological systems, and process dynamics Relevant experience may include: Upstream bioprocess modeling: cell culture, fermentation, growth kinetics, metabolic models, nutrient consumption, and product formation Downstream process modeling: chromatography, filtration, UF/DF, purification, adsorption, mixing, and mass transfer Digital twins, process simulations, scale-up/scale-down modeling, and process optimization Preferred Qualifications Experience with modeling tools such as Python, MATLAB, gPROMS, Aspen Custom Modeler, COMSOL, Julia, or similar platforms Experience supporting commercial manufacturing, MSAT, technology transfer, or process validation Ability to develop, calibrate, validate, and interpret mechanistic models using experimental and manufacturing data