Airtree is advertising this role on behalf of one of our biotech portfolio companies, who are currently in stealth mode. This role is based in Sydney, Australia. We're looking to attract keen Boston candidates eligible for a work & holiday visa to work in Sydney for the summer (your winter!) for 6+ months. Sponsorship available for high performers.
We exist to drastically increase access to advanced medicines. We are looking for experience bioreactor operators to support upstream development.
We're hiring an experienced operator to assemble, sterilise and run a fleet of up to 16 benchtop bioreactors - twelve 300 mL vessels and four 3 L vessels - safely, aseptically and on schedule.
Why this role exists

This is an execution-first role, not an experimental-design role. Our scientists define the question, set the run parameters and interpret the data; you make those plans happen reliably. The job is to make a large reactor fleet feel routine through flawless preparation, clean technique, repeatable operation and complete records — and to solve normal equipment and controls problems without pulling a senior scientist away from their work.

The Role

Operating the full 16-reactor fleet: twelve 300 mL and four 3 L mammalian-cell-culture bioreactors, often in parallel and on shared run schedules.




Assembling vessels, tubing, probes, spargers and single-use components; leak-checking assemblies and staging everything required for each run.
Cleaning, sterilising or autoclaving, reassembling and turning vessels around to a defined daily rhythm so the next run starts on time.
Executing approved run plans exactly: inoculation, media and feed additions, set-point changes, sampling, harvest and sample hand-off.
Calibrating and maintaining pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature probes, and checking gas, agitation, pump and alarm functions before use.
Troubleshooting controls and cascade behaviour independently — including DO, gas-mix, agitation, pump and sensor issues — and knowing when a problem genuinely needs escalation.
Protecting the sterile boundary throughout every run; recognising contamination early and leading the immediate isolation, clean-down and recovery response.
Processing and labelling samples consistently, maintaining chain of custody and ensuring scientists can trust the resulting data.
Completing electronic records, run logs, deviations and equipment checks in real time, and keeping consumables and work areas inspection-ready.

📌 Bioreactor Operations Technician (New South Wales)
🏢 Airtree Ventures
📍 New South Wales