Company Description

As a global key player in yeasts and fermentation, Lesaffre designs, manufactures and markets innovative solutions for Baking, Food taste & pleasure, Health care and Biotechnology.

Family group born in northern France in 1853, now a multi-national and a multicultural company, Lesaffre is committed to working with confidence to better nourish and protect the planet.

In close collaboration with its clients and partners, Lesaffre employs 11 000 people in more than 50 countries.

Lesaffre achieves a turnover of 3 billion euros.

Job Description

Within our R&D division, the Downstream Process Design department focuses on designing and optimizing purification strategies for fermentation-derived products. To support our innovation and industrial development efforts, we are offering a one-year apprenticeship opportunity for an engineering student interested in developing and modeling downstream processes at laboratory and pilot scale.

As part of the Purification process team, your mission will be to contribute to the definition, testing and modelling of extraction and purification processes. The main unit operations involved can include tangential flow filtration, chromatography or crystallization.

Your main missions will include:  

• Designing and performing laboratory and pilot-scale experiments to evaluate different purification strategies.
• Characterizing process performance (yield, purity, robustness) under various operating conditions.
• Identifying and quantifying key phenomena (e.g. fouling, mass transfer limitations, crystallization kinetics)
• Developing mathematical models using the gPROMS software (Siemens) to describe and simulate these unit operations.
• Using modelling as a decision-support tool to guide process optimization and scale-up.
• Documenting your work and presenting results to the R&D team.

What we propose:

• A hands-on R&D experience in a dynamic and innovation-driven environment.
• Exposure to industrial challenges in biotechnology and purification processes design.
• A balanced mix of laboratory experimentation and advanced process modelling.
• Mentorship and technical support from experienced process scientists and engineers.

• Final-year student in engineering school or university (chemical engineering, biotechnology, process engineering, or related fields).
• Strong knowledge of unit operations, particularly in separation processes, chromatography, and crystallization.
• Interest in both experimental and modelling work.
• Familiarity with simulation tools such as gPROMS, Aspen or Matlab is an asset.
• Analytical mindset, autonomy and scientific curiosity.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.
• Fluent in English.

Additional Information

What can Lesaffre offer you:

• Join a family business rich in a long history with human-oriented values with a mission: To Nourish and Protect our Planet, 
• Evolve in an enriching work environment and a multicultural context 

At Lesaffre, diversity is a strength that enriches our culture and our teams. We are committed to offering you a work environment where you can thrive, regardless of your background, gender, age or abilities. We encourage all applications, as we believe that diverse perspectives strengthen our ability to innovate and meet the challenges of tomorrow.