Founding Scientist / Engineer - Climate & Agriculture Tech (Full-Time, Short Term)

Job Announcement - Founding / Scientist / Engineer — Climate & Agriculture Tech (Full-Time, Short Term)Location: Berkeley, CAJob Type: Full-Time, Founding Team MemberStart Date: May 2026End Date: August 2026 (possibility to extend)Salary: PaidAbout UsMvmnt-X, Inc. is a mission-driven, early-stage deep climate tech startup using microalgae to unlock carbon-negative, circular solutions for agriculture. We are passionate, scrappy, builders, driven by science, mission and impact. We are excited about capturing waste before they enter the environment and cause downstream degradation, recovering nutrients and transforming them into high-value bioproducts like fertilizer while locking carbon back into soils.  We’re backed by early grants and are building out our core team. Now, we’re looking for a mission-driven Founding / Scientist / Engineer to co-lead the design, development, and deployment of our algal cultivation and treatment systems, to help shape both our technology and our company from the ground up.TeamThe Mvmnt-X founding team brings a range of expertise from mechanical engineering, structures, optics, agriculture, aerospace engineering and design thinking; we are inspired by advances over the past two decades in cultivating algae as a biological scrubber and biofeedstock. We hail from: Stanford, MIT, Cornell, SRI and Karem Aircraft. The RoleFounding / Scientist / Engineer (Full-Time, Short Term) with a background in Environmental Engineering, Biological Engineering, Microbiology, Chemical Engineering, Physics or related field. As a Founding / Scientist / Engineer (Full-Time, Short Term), you’ll be a core technical co-creator—working closely with the founding team to design and test early systems, optimize biological and optical processes, and develop intellectual property. You’ll play a key role in translating early ideas into proof-of-concept pilots and patentable innovations, laying the groundwork for scalable carbon removal and on-farm nutrient recovery. You’ll work closely with the founding team to design and test pilot-scale systems and help transition the technology toward commercial viability.                                     Key Responsibilities:Design & Build Early Systems: Hands-on development and scaling of algae cultivation systems for nutrient-rich agricultural waste streams and wastewater.Biological Optimization and Development: Optimize culture conditions for high nutrient uptake and biomass productivity.Physics: Assist in design of optical trains, perform optical simulations, assemble and prototype optical systems, and characterize performance. Analytics & Data: Develop and execute sampling, monitoring, and analysis workflows for algae testing, biomass composition, and system performance.Field Deployment: Help design and run lab- and field-scale studies, including process and hardware design, construction, and process monitoring, including nutrient removal performance, CO₂ capture, and biomass utilization.Field Testing & Validation: Lead experiments and sampling to assess performance and system reliability.Manufacturability: Design for manufacturability, work with vendors on parts sourcing.Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with the founding team on tech strategy, manufacturability, and IP.Technoeconomic Analysis: Evaluate the per unit cost and performance, including capital cost and operating cost projections.Who You AreYou’re a builder at heart—driven by science, mission, and impact. You know how to drive research programs and you function optimally in highly dynamic environments. You operate at the edge of applied research and systems bio-/engineering and know how to rapidly iterate using science fundamentals as a guide. You are T-shaped with deep expertise while simultaneously you freely operate across disciplines depending on the needs of the project.Curiosity is woven into your daily routine, making it natural to question the status quo. You’re a passionate builder who wants to use biology and engineering to solve environmental challenges. You’re excited to take risks, roll up your sleeves, and bring deep technical insight to a problem with global importance. You are comfortable working in the ambiguity and fast pace of an early-stage startup.You want to be there at the beginning and help shape what’s possible. Deep hardware technologies, carbon removal and climate mitigation are your passions.  Qualifications:Experience level: MS Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Microbiology, Phycology or related fields with relevant experience. Working in a startup environment is a plus.Desired: Minimum 5 years experience. PhD. Passion for soil carbon sequestration technologies, agriculture, and circular economy. Phycology. We don’t expect all, but several of these:Strong knowledge of microalgae cultivation, wastewater or agricultural waste treatment, or bioprocessing.Bioprocess engineering: Bioreactor system design, including gas management and mass transfer, sensors, filtration techniques, fluids control and management.Wastewater treatment - chemical or biological - research/engineering, design of biofilms or planktonic cultivation systems for photoautotrophic organisms.Hands-on experience building and running lab- or pilot-scale reactors, photobioreactors, open pond systems, or field-scale demos.Process / Mechanical commissioning experience and/or pilot plant operation of agricultural or wastewater treatment facilitiesKnowledge in optical physics.Experience with sensors, lab instrumentation, and wet lab work.Experience in a lab-to-field transition or hardware prototyping environment.Strong experimental design, data analysis, and documentation skills.Familiarity with water chemistry, nutrient testing, or bioprocessing workflows.Familiarity with nutrient recovery, effluent regulations, or circular bioeconomy principles.Strong communication skills and an ability to clearly present findings to technical and non-technical audiences.Experience with LCA, technoeconomic analysis, or carbon/nutrient modelingDesire to co-create in an early-stage, high-impact settingNice-to-Have:Experience in an early stage startup or entrepreneurial settingHardware and firmware subsystem development, software, controls, algorithms, prototyping, testing and integration, optimization, feedback control.Experience generating or contributing to IP and patentsFamiliarity with grant writingInterest in bioeconomy (e.g., fertilizers, feed, biofuels)Process modeling and automation skillsKnowledge of carbon credit protocols or MRV systems for carbon removalBackground in carbon removal, soil health, or bioproduct developmentWhy Join Us?Make a real impact: Help develop one of the most scalable and biological carbon removal approaches.Mission-first: Your work directly contributes to solving real environmental problems.Shape the future: Be a core architect of our technology, mission, and company culture.Deep impact: You’ll help build a new category of climate tech where biology meets infrastructure.Own your work: Founding-level equity and a direct role in building something meaningful.Come help us make agriculture carbon-negative and turn waste to value! To apply, send your resume/CV, a short note on why you’re excited about this mission, and any relevant work samples or project links to sarah@mvmnt-x.com.Work location:Lab at UC Berkeley and Field SiteRequirements:Ability to lift weight and work on a farm / fieldYou can find a bit more about us here!C2C Cohort 2, a LBNL and DOE program funded by the DOE Technology Commercialization FundNSF SBIR Phase I (Translational Impacts) awardee, 2024-2026Contact Info:sarah@mvmnt-x.com  Key words:Carbon removal and storageCircular economyMicroalgaeSoil carbon sequestrationCapture of critical nutrients