2008 Internship Opportunities
Cobalt Biofuels is proud to announce the following potential vacancies for internships in the summer of 2008. The 10 week, 2008 program is expected to run from 2 June (Monday) through 8 August (Friday) and participation is anticipated at a 20hr-week level. Cobalt will fill positions based on candidate merit. Cobalt will review applications from exceptional individuals for the positions below and applications will be considered for extraordinary candidates with relevant experience and project ideas outside the scope listed below. In these cases, please submit a resume and short cover letter outlining the ‘killer project’. Please email resumes to or fax to 650-230-0756, attention Human Resources.
008_001i Successful candidates will assist in the characterization of microorganisms of industrial relevance. Interns for this program will have the opportunity to work with world renowned microbiology laboratories and must be able to travel. The successful candidate shall be organized, detail oriented and have competency in sterile technique, microscopy, and good laboratory practices (BS/MS Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology or Biochemistry)
2008_002i The successful candidate will assist with microbiology laboratory activities and shall be organized, detail oriented and should have competency in sterile technique, microscopy, and good laboratory practices (HS/BS Biology or equivalent)
008 003i The successful candidate will identify microorganisms with desired properties and phenotypes. Experience with biochemical assays and competency in bacteriology is required. The successful candidate shall be organized, detail oriented and should have competency in sterile technique and good laboratory practices (BS/MS Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry. or equivalent).
008 004i The successful candidate will examine small cultures growth on a variety of feedstocks. The successful candidate shall be organized, detail oriented and should have competency in sterile technique and good laboratory practices (BS/MS Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry. or equivalent).
2008_005i The successful candidate will examine the design and operation of biochemical reactor designs. The successful candidate should have competency in laboratory practice and engineering design. (Soph./Jr. BS Chemical. Mechanical or Industrial Engineering; skilled High School candidates will be considered)
008_006i The successful candidate will examine methods and technologies to be used for screening of candidate organisms. The successful candidate should have competency in basic laboratory and microscopic technique and a strong understanding of fluid mechanics principles and microfluidics. (MS Chemical, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering;)
008_007i The successful candidate will assist in the development of thermodynamic models which shall be applied for process optimization and alter the biochemical products. The successful candidate should have experience in both modeling and experimentation of (bio)chemical processes. (MS in Physical Chemistry, Chemical or Industrial Engineering, Physics).
2008_008i The successful candidate will develop and perform HPLC and GC analysis and calibration to characterize biochemical production.The successful candidate should have experience in analytical chemistry. Experience with GC and HPLC is highly recommended. (BS in Analytical Chemistry, or equivalent).
2008_009i The successful candidate will assist in the development of chemical process equipment and should have experience in engineering design, heat transfer and thermodynamics. Experience in distillation, water treatment, phase change and equilibria, and/or scaling of process equipment is considered a major advantage. Experience with ASPEN Plus and Solidworks is highly recommended. (MS/BS in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering).
2008_010i The successful candidate will: design and implement methods for the optical identification of biophotonic and other markers and chemical compounds for use as real time analytical tools. The successful candidate should have experience with mutispectral methods for the quantitative determination of known compounds, and experience in the development of optical methods which can be applied to the detection of metabolic activity markers. Experience with optical hardware systems is critical and strong radiation theory fundamentals are required. (MS in BioEngineering, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering or equivalent).
2008_011i The successful candidate will develop and refine a technoeconomic model for the production of next generation renewable transportation fuels. The model will examine feedstocks, products and co-products and will include examinations of sensitivities to capital and operating costs and revenues. The successful candidate should have experience with financial and business models and commodities markets. Special interest will be given to those candidates with cleantech / renewable fuels education or experience. (MA/BA business administration).