Bioprocess Analyst

Location: Hybrid – Squamish, BC
Term: Full-time, 6-month contract (eligible for extension)

About Minera Systems

At Minera Systems, we’re building carbon removal technology that extracts and captures CO₂ from decomposing biomass. We’re a team of climate-focused entrepreneurs and engineers working together to make a big impact. Now, we’re adding microbial intelligence to the mix.

We’ve developed a bench-scale prototype reactor and are preparing to launch our field pilot. As we scale, microbial behaviour becomes critical to our system performance.

About the Role

We’re hiring a Bioprocess Analyst to lead efforts to understand and optimize the microbial processes driving aerobic decomposition in our bioreactors. You’ll be the first microbial expert on our team and will play a key role in commercialization as we scale from lab-scale reactors to industrial deployments.

If you’re passionate about climate solutions and are ready to get your hands dirty, we’d love to hear from you.

What You’ll Do

 Microbial Research & Profiling

• Analyze microbial community succession during composting at lab and pilot scale

• Design sampling protocols and interpret third-party microbial sequencing results (e.g. 16S rRNA)

• Recommend microbial indicators or targets to track over time

• Evaluate microbial effects on composting performance

• Design and run small-scale trials
  

Compost Optimization Support

• Support the operation of the bench scale prototype
• Help model how microbial metabolism links to temperature and gas levels
• Work with engineers to inform C:N ratio targets, feedstock recipes, and airflow tuning

• Advise on moisture management, stratification risks, and field-scale microbial resilience

 Scale-Up Support

• Advise on microbial behavior evolution during reactor scale-up

• Propose design or operational adjustments to support microbial stability at scale

• Recommend monitoring practices for field deployments

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Present findings to engineers, founders, and partners

• Contribute to reports, research summaries, and grant applications

• Translate microbial insights into actionable improvements

Who You Are

• You have a background in biology, microbial ecology, environmental biotechnology, or a related field

• You’re excited to apply your skills in a real-world, impact-driven start-up

• You’re comfortable working across disciplines and have a practical mindset

Required:

• Degree in microbiology, biology, environmental science, or similar (graduate degree preferred but not required)

• Knowledge of microbial succession, aerobic decomposition, and microbial kinetics

• Some experience with experimental design and interpreting microbial profiling data

• Strong communication and collaboration skills

Bonus if you have:

• Experience with composting systems or bioreactors

• Exposure to metagenomics, bioinformatics, or microbial consortia

• Experience working with hardware teams or startups

Why Join Minera?

• Help build climate technology from the ground up

• Apply your skills to a real-world climate solution

• Work alongside a small, ambitious team with backgrounds in engineering, design, and cleantech

• Be part of a company creating measurable carbon removal impact