Fermentation Process Operator

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals! As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People. At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights. Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!

Your Role: As a Fermentation Process Operator, you will be part of a shift operations team responsible for the cGMP manufacture of products at our Speke manufacturing site. Working across different areas of Fermentation, including Mash Preparation, Seed Room and Fermenter Room, you will operate and maintain manufacturing equipment, support material handling and analytical activities, and ensure all associated documentation is completed accurately and in compliance with regulatory requirements. This is a hands-on role where you will work with a high degree of autonomy while contributing to safety, quality, operational performance and continuous improvement across the manufacturing process.

Your Responsibilities:

• Safely operate manufacturing plant through both computer-controlled and manual operations, ensuring compliance with cGMP requirements and production schedules.
• Monitor fermentation processes, with particular focus on fermenter sterility, process efficiency, quality, yield, utilisation and losses.
• Identify potential process deviations and take appropriate action, escalating issues where required.
• Perform process sampling and testing in accordance with cGMP requirements.
• Support the safe and compliant handling and disposal of process waste.
• Perform day-to-day equipment fault finding and operational preventive maintenance (PM) activities.
• Raise and manage maintenance work orders and accurately document maintenance activities.
• Support the receipt, sampling, storage and movement of raw materials used within Fermentation, liaising with Quality Control to ensure timely material approval.
• Safely operate fork trucks and other mechanical handling equipment where required.
• Complete manufacturing, maintenance, SAP, PI, EHS and other operational documentation accurately and in a regulatory-compliant manner.
• Maintain a safe, clean and organised working environment and actively participate in EHS activities, including risk assessments, active monitoring and Permit to Work processes.
• Work with colleagues and support functions to investigate and resolve operational issues using root cause analysis and structured problem solving.
• Identify and implement improvements to manufacturing processes, equipment operation and maintenance practices.
• Lead or contribute to continuous improvement activities and coach colleagues in implementing improvements.
• Support capital projects and operational improvements, including SOP updates, commissioning and qualification activities and EHS reviews.
• Participate fully in training, cross-skilling and personal development activities.
• Understand and follow applicable Feed Safety requirements and raise concerns appropriately.

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications):

• Experience working in a manufacturing, production or process operations environment.
• Ability to safely operate and monitor manufacturing equipment and processes.
• Strong awareness of health, safety and environmental requirements within an operational environment.
• Good problem-solving skills with the ability to identify and respond to process or equipment issues.
• Ability to work effectively within a shift-based team while also operating independently when required.
• Good attention to detail and ability to accurately complete operational documentation.
• Willingness to work in a regulated environment and follow established procedures and standards.

What will give you a competitive edge (preferred qualifications):

• Previous experience within fermentation, brewing, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food or other process manufacturing.
• Experience working within a cGMP or similarly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Experience with fermentation processes and/or working in Mash Preparation, Seed or Fermenter operations.
• Experience with equipment fault finding and preventive maintenance.
• Experience with process sampling or analytical testing.
• Familiarity with SAP, PI or maintenance management systems.
• Experience with root cause analysis and continuous improvement activities.
• Forklift or other relevant material-handling experience/certification.

Additional Information:

• Location: Speke, Liverpool, UK
• Position: Full Time
• Working pattern: Shift-based
• Reports to: Shift Leader

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Elanco we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive work environment. If you think you might be a good fit for a role but don't necessarily meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this role or other roles!

Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. Elanco may use automated tools, including AI, to support parts of our recruitment process, such as reviewing applications against job‑related criteria and/or transferrable skills. These tools help ensure a consistent, structured evaluation, but they do not make hiring decisions. All decisions involve a human reviewer. For more information on how we handle personal data, please see our Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.