Oleo Sustainable Palm Oil Solutions

​Details

Positions: Biotechnology Research & Development Intern
Location: Berkeley, California (In-Person). 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.
Innovation Area: Energy, Food, Water, Human Health and Environment Nexus
Position Type: TomKat Center-supported
Compensation: $8000
Internship Term: 8 weeks

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Oleo SPOS is a venture dedicated to halting palm oil driven deforestation. To that end, we have developed a deforestation free, carbon-neutral alternative to palm oil derived from biomass waste streams. Oleo’s process is conducted in two steps:  first, feedstocks are pretreated via microwave hydrolysis to release fermentable sugars from recalcitrant biomass, creating a hydrolysate. This hydrolysate is then used as the substrate for an oleaginous yeast fermentation,  to produce microbial lipids. The resultant lipids serve as our sustainable palm oil alternative. 

Oleo is a pre-seed funded company supported by Activate and the Cyclotron Road program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. We are currently focused on optimizing and scaling our process to produce a drop-in replacement for palm oil in the consumer goods industry as we prepare for a pilot demonstration in June of 2026. Learn more at our website oleospos.com.

Responsibilities

During the summer of 2025, Oleo SPOS will be focused on optimizing our biomass deconstruction and fermentation technologies. This R&D internship position is intended to support the development of our biomanufacturing platform and daily laboratory operations. Key responsibilities will include:

  1. Yeast culture and maintaining cell lines.
  2. Assisting with bioprocess development including bioreactor setup, parameter optimization, and cell harvesting.
  3. Feedstock procurement, preprocessing, and characterization.
  4. Hydrolysate production and characterization.
  5. Design experiments, develop protocols, and analyze data as necessary.
  6. Managing daily laboratory operations including inventory and data management.

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 optimizing 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 with statistical software such as JMP

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 SPOS but your area of technical expertise isn’t listed, we encourage you to apply.