Oleo
Details
Positions: Biotechnology Research & Development Intern
Location: Berkeley, California
We are embedded at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) where our primary research operations take place. This R&D internship will be in-person, on site at LBNL’s Potter street location in West Berkeley (717 Potter St).
Innovation Area: Energy, Food, Water, Human Health and Environment Nexus
Position Type: TomKat Center-supported
Compensation: $8,500
Internship Term: 8 weeks
Oleo is a climate technology startup transforming focused on unlocking the future fuels by transforming biomass waste into carbon-negative oil feedstocks for the production of advanced fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel. Our platform enables cost-effective valorization of biomass components to produce cellulosic sugars in the form of a hydrolysate, and carbon-negative oils that can directly replace fossil-derived inputs in existing industrial processes.
By overcoming longstanding technical and economic barriers in biomass conversion, Oleo delivers products with significantly lower carbon intensity while reducing reliance on food- and land-intensive feedstocks. Our work sits at the intersection of chemical engineering and bioprocessing with a focus on building scalable, cost-competitive solutions for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors.
Oleo is backed by leading climate investors and industry partners, and our team combines deep technical expertise with a strong bias toward execution. Interns at Oleo work on real technical and commercial challenges, contribute directly to core R&D and scale-up efforts, and gain hands-on experience building a first-of-kind industrial platform.
Learn more at our website: https://www.oleo.earth/
Responsibilities
During the summer of 2026, Oleo will be focused on scaling up our biomass deconstruction and fermentation technologies to the pilot setting. This R&D internship position is intended to support the scale-up of our biomanufacturing platform and daily laboratory operations. Key responsibilities will include:
- Assisting with bioprocess development including bioreactor setup, parameter optimization, downstream processing, and product preparation.
- Feedstock procurement, preprocessing, and characterization.
- Assisting with microwave reactor scale-up, including equipment installation, reactor design, set-up, and hydrolysate production.
- Design experiments, develop protocols, and analyze data as necessary.
Who should apply
We are looking for individuals with a technical background who are comfortable in a wet lab setting and are passionate about sustainability and Oleo’s mission.
Required Expertise
We encourage students with diverse backgrounds and a broad range of technical skills to apply. We welcome any applicant with a STEM background, wet lab experience, or other relevant experience around a technical process.
Preferred skills/Majors
The following skills are preferable, but not required:
- Laboratory technique and knowledge
- Cell culture experience
- Experience designing experiments and writing laboratory protocols
- Data analysis and experience
The following majors are preferable, but not required:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Microbiology
- Chemical engineering
- Biological engineering
- Biochemical engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
This list is not exhaustive, so if you are interested in working with Oleo but your area of technical expertise isn’t listed, we encourage you to apply.