Senior Algae Seedstock and Laboratory Manager

Senior Algae Seedstock Laboratory Manager

Location: Bali, Indonesia
Employment Type: Full-Time, On-Site

About the Role

Symbrosia is seeking a highly capable Senior Algae Seedstock Laboratory Manager to establish and operate our indoor marine algae laboratory in Bali.

This person will be responsible for establishing Symbrosia’s genetic stocks in Indonesia using company SOPs, maintaining healthy and contamination-free seedstock cultures, expanding laboratory cultures, and preparing reliable inoculum for transfer to outdoor production.

This is a hands-on laboratory operations role supporting commercial algae manufacturing. The position does not manage outdoor cultivation or harvesting operations.

Key Responsibilities

Genetic Stock and Seedstock Management

• Establish new genetic stocks in Indonesia using Symbrosia’s SOPs, protocols, and quality standards.

• Receive, isolate, acclimate, clean, propagate, and maintain approved algal cultures.

• Maintain master, working, backup, and production seedstock cultures.

• Track culture origin, lineage, transfer history, treatments, health, and performance.

• Evaluate cultures for growth, morphology, stability, and contamination before scale-up.

• Maintain appropriate biosecurity, confidentiality, and traceability for Symbrosia’s genetic materials and proprietary methods.

Indoor Laboratory Operations

• Manage the daily operation, organization, sanitation, and biosecurity of the indoor algae laboratory.

• Conduct inoculations, culture transfers, sampling, maintenance, and laboratory-scale expansion.

• Prepare healthy and consistent inoculum for transfer to outdoor cultivation systems.

• Manage seawater preparation, filtration, sterilization, storage, and quality control.

• Monitor culture conditions, including temperature, salinity, pH, nutrients, light, and dissolved oxygen.

• Identify and respond to contamination, culture stress, abnormal growth, and culture loss.

• Coordinate inoculum timing, quantity, and quality requirements with the outdoor production team.

Quality, Data, and Documentation

• Maintain accurate and traceable records for cultures, genetic stocks, samples, transfers, and inoculum batches.

• Ensure laboratory data are collected, entered, reviewed, and stored accurately and on schedule.

• Follow and maintain Symbrosia’s SOPs, batch records, sanitation procedures, and quality-control systems.

• Investigate contamination events, culture failures, and deviations from expected performance.

• Conduct root-cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions.

• Prepare regular laboratory reports and technical summaries in English.

Laboratory Leadership

• Train and supervise laboratory technicians in sterile technique, culture handling, seawater preparation, sanitation, microscopy, and data collection.

• Manage laboratory equipment, consumables, reagents, vessels, and inventories.

• Coordinate equipment maintenance, calibration, and repair.

• Support laboratory setup, commissioning, and continuous process improvement.

• Communicate technical issues, operational risks, and laboratory needs to Symbrosia’s leadership and production teams.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in phycology, marine biology, microbiology, biotechnology, aquaculture, marine science, or a closely related discipline.

• Strong hands-on experience in an algal, marine, microbiology, aquaculture, or biotechnology laboratory.

• Demonstrated experience establishing, isolating, acclimating, purifying, or maintaining biological cultures.

• Strong knowledge of sterile and aseptic laboratory techniques.

• Experience with culture inoculation, transfer, scale-up, preservation, and contamination control.

• Experience working with natural or artificial seawater systems.

• Strong microscopy, data-entry, documentation, and recordkeeping skills.

• Professional English fluency, both written and spoken.

• Ability to follow detailed SOPs and maintain consistent production standards.

• Strong troubleshooting, organization, and problem-solving skills.

• Experience supervising or training laboratory technicians.

• Indonesian citizenship or legal authorization to work in Indonesia.

• Willingness to work full-time on-site in Bali.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience cultivating macroalgae, marine red algae, or Asparagopsis species.

• Experience managing seedstock, germplasm, master cultures, working cultures, or culture collections.

• Experience establishing cultures from field-collected biological material.

• Familiarity with molecular identification, genotyping, cryopreservation, or long-term culture preservation.

• Experience supporting aquaculture hatchery, fermentation, biotechnology, or biological manufacturing operations.

• Familiarity with Indonesian marine laboratories, aquaculture institutions, universities, suppliers, or permitting processes.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this position will be measured by:

• Reliable establishment of new genetic stocks in Indonesia

• Healthy and stable seedstock cultures

• Low contamination and culture-loss rates

• Consistent delivery of production-ready inoculum

• Accurate and complete laboratory records

Strong adherence to Symbrosia’s SOPs

• Effective technician training and laboratory organization

• Clear communication with the outdoor production and leadership teams

Application Requirements

Please submit:

• Current CV

• Cover letter describing relevant laboratory and algae-culture experience