Research Laboratory Internship

Are you recently graduated and motivated with a passion for biotechnology, fermentation, and microbial processes? Then join our innovative team at MAASH, a leading fermentation company specializing in mycoprotein production.

As a lab intern in our R&D department, you’ll contribute to projects focused on optimizing the efficiency and robustness of our production process, with a particular emphasis on the early stages of the seed train.

This hands-on role offers the opportunity to work in a dynamic lab environment, apply your theoretical knowledge, and gain practical experience in fermentation technology, process optimization, and microbial cultivation. You’ll collaborate with our R&D team to analyse data, troubleshoot challenges, and develop solutions that drive sustainable and scalable mycoprotein production.

Your main project will focus on optimizing the first two steps of the seed train: stock culture propagation and the initial liquid culture. You will conduct a detailed investigation to refine the inoculation procedure, analyse media composition (including nitrogen and carbon sources), and evaluate key culture parameters such as pH, temperature, and agitation speed.

The internship begins with comprehensive training in all relevant lab techniques and analyses, enabling you to independently design and execute experiments. Optimized procedures will then be validated in lab-scale fermentations (2L) using controlled bioreactors. This hands-on experience will allow you to participate in, train on, and operate fermentations in a real R&D setting, providing valuable exposure to industrial bioprocess development.

During your internship, you will work with a range of methods and techniques, including:

• Fungal cultivation in Erlenmeyer flasks, on agar plates, and in glass bioreactors
• Media preparation and sterilization
• HPLC analysis for metabolite quantification
• Microbial and microscopic analysis for quality control
• Data analysis and reporting of experimental results