--- title: 'Prototyping Engineer, Automation & Hardware at Biosphere' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/prototyping-engineer-automation-hardware-biosphere-oakland-rfcfw6whhq2s' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-02' --- # Prototyping Engineer, Automation & Hardware at Biosphere - **Company:** Biosphere - **Location:** Oakland, CA - **Posted:** 2026-10-27 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-02 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/biosphere/jobs/4470198009 ## Job description ## About the Role We’re looking for someone early in their career who likes making physical systems work. You’ll build, wire and modify the prototypes and test rigs our R&D team uses to develop new bioreactor technology, from benchtop setups to pilot reactors. One day that’s wiring a control panel; the next it’s plumbing a skid or chasing down why a sensor drifts. You’ll work alongside our engineers and learn how industrial fermentation equipment is designed, built and run. ## Responsibilities - Build and modify prototypes, test rigs and bioreactor systems: mechanical assembly, sanitary fittings and tubing, pumps, valves, heaters and gas lines. - Wire and program small control systems: PLCs and microcontrollers, motor drivers, sensors (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, pressure, flow) and mass flow controllers. - Run experiments, keep clean data and build records. - Troubleshoot equipment and fix it. - Document what you build: wiring diagrams, parts lists and procedures. - Help commission new equipment, and keep our lab and pilot systems running. ## Qualifications - Have built physical things that work, at school, at a job or on your own. - Can wire and troubleshoot basic electrical and control systems, and have programmed a PLC, an Arduino, a Raspberry Pi or similar. - Are handy with tools, and ideally have done some machining or fabrication. - Have worked around bioreactors, fermenters or other lab or process equipment, in a lab, a brewery, a food or biotech plant, or similar. - Take safety seriously around electricity, pressure, steam, compressed gases and chemicals. - Have a degree in mechanical, electrical, chemical or biological engineering, mechatronics, or equivalent hands-on experience. - You don’t need all of these. If you’ve built real things and want to learn bioprocess hardware, apply. ## Preferred Skills - Industrial automation: CODESYS, Siemens, or SCADA and HMI tools such as Ignition - Sanitary process hardware: tri-clamp fittings, diaphragm valves, cleaning in place - Building or running fermentation or cell culture equipment ## Benefits At Biosphere, our goal is to empower talented individuals who are driven by the desire to work on tackling society's biggest challenges. To that end, we take pride in striving to be an equal opportunity employer with a healthy work culture, creating an environment where high performers can thrive. We currently offer the following benefits: - Competitive compensation through a mix of salary and equity. - Unlimited paid vacation and sick/leave days + public holidays. - Comprehensive health insurance for employees and their dependents, including dental and vision. - Paid family leave. - Membership at Pacific Pipe Climbing gym next door. Biosphere is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. ## About Biosphere ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Biosphere is replacing the 1950's steam bioreactor with a modern, UV-enabled design to reduce the capital intensity of biomanufacturing. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage) - **Headquarters**: Oakland, California, United States - **Founded**: 2022 - **Founders**: Brian Heligman and Arye Lipman ## Core Business - **Primary Industry**: Industrial Biotechnology / Biomanufacturing - **Target Customers**: B2B, serving companies developing next-generation bioproducts (food, nutrition, specialty chemicals, enzymes, materials, fuels) - **Mission**: Unleash industrial biology to sustainably manufacture material abundance. ## Products & Services - **UV-Sterilized Bioreactor**: A modern bioreactor design that uses ultraviolet radiation for sterilization instead of traditional steam, simplifying hardware and reducing capital costs. This is the company's core platform technology enabling rapid scale-up and lower-cost manufacturing for bioproducts. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Total Funding**: $8.8M (Seed Round, led by VXI Capital and Lowercarbon Capital, announced Jan 2025). Additionally, a $9M grant over 3.5 years from the U.S. Department of Defense (announced May 2026). - **Key Metric**: Total Funding $8.8M (Seed) + $9M DoD Grant - **Notable Investors**: Lowercarbon Capital, Founders Fund, VXI Capital, GS Futures, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) - **Growth Signals**: - Won a $9M grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (May 2026). - Headcount grew 5% YoY, now at 9 employees. - Company is actively hiring and looking to acquire strain and process IP in food/nutrition, consumer health, specialty chemicals, and enzymes. - Featured in TechCrunch and Synbiobeta for their breakthrough technology. ## Competitive Advantages - **Core Technology**: Proprietary UV sterilization approach for bioreactors, a fundamental redesign of a 70-year-old industry standard (the steam bioreactor). This dramatically reduces capital intensity and operational complexity. - **Strong Backing**: Supported by top-tier deep-tech and climate investors (Lowercarbon Capital, Founders Fund). - **Clear Problem Focus**: Solving a critical, well-known bottleneck in the $100B bioproducts industry (the reliance on outdated reactor designs). ## Strategic Focus - **Scale-up & Deployment**: Enabling rapid scale-up for next-generation bioproducts by reducing risk and unlocking lower-cost manufacturing. - **Asset Acquisition**: Actively seeking to acquire strain and process IP to expand their portfolio and capabilities. - **Government & Defense**: Leveraging DoD grants to develop and deploy their technology for critical chemical manufacturing. ## Why Work Here - **Impact**: Opportunity to work on a fundamental challenge in biomanufacturing, directly contributing to a more sustainable future. - **Culture**: Described as a "small, passionate team" of "relentless builders and problem-solvers." Values resilience and transforming the world using technology. - **Growth Stage**: Early-stage (Seed) with significant growth trajectory, offering high autonomy and the chance to shape the company. - **Location**: Based in Oakland, CA. Roles appear to be on-site/in-office. - **Team**: Highly competent team with expertise in commercial-scale fermentation, robotic greenhouses, thin-film semiconductors, and high-throughput bioinformatics. ## Sources 1. [biosphere.io](https://www.biosphere.io/) 2. [biosphere.io/about](https://www.biosphere.io/about) 3. [LinkedIn - Biosphere](https://www.linkedin.com/company/biosphereio) 4. [Greenhouse Jobs - Biosphere](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/biosphere) 5. [Greenhouse - Open Application](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/biosphere/jobs/4016705009) ## Other roles at Biosphere - [Director, Technology Development](https://feeny.ai/job/director-technology-development-biosphere-oakland-f49tsxafkjre) — Oakland, CA - [Business Development Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-associate-biosphere-oakland-ahc2kp1qswqz) — Oakland, CA - [Process Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/process-engineer-biosphere-oakland-98xvbn68bfg5) — Oakland, CA - [Open Application](https://feeny.ai/job/open-application-biosphere-oakland-shqjjrq5egt4) — Oakland, CA