Supercritical Fluid Extraction Scientist R&D & QA/QC Lead

Location: On-Site at Tihu, Nalbari, Assam

Employment Type: Full-Time

Department: R&D / QA / QC

Reports To: CEO / Technical Director

Sheetal Naturals, based in Northeast India, partners directly with farmers across Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Meghalaya to source high-quality organic raw materials. The company specializes in extracting oleoresins and oils from ginger, turmeric, and Naga chili, which are known for their high levels of gingerol, curcumin, and capsaicin. Sheetal Naturals also produces black tea extract and decaffeinated black tea, serving both domestic and international markets. Team members work closely with local supply chains and advanced extraction technologies to deliver consistent, premium natural ingredients to clients.

We are looking for an experienced Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SCFE) Scientist – R&D & QA/QC Lead to lead the development, optimization, scale-up, commercialization, and troubleshooting of supercritical CO₂ extraction processes for botanical, nutraceutical, food, cosmetic, perfumery, and pharmaceutical applications.

The role combines hands-on SCFE process development, R&D leadership, analytical science, and QA/QC oversight. The ideal candidate will be a technically strong leader who can take a product from raw materials and laboratory trials through process optimization, pilot- and commercial-scale-up, quality specification, and routine production.

SCFE & Process Development

• Lead development and optimization of supercritical CO₂ extraction processes for botanical and natural products.
• Design and execute laboratory, pilot, and commercial-scale extraction trials.
• Optimize pressure, temperature, CO₂ flow, extraction time, particle size, moisture, separator conditions, and other critical parameters.
• Improve extraction yield, selectivity, purity, potency, recovery, process efficiency, and economics.
• Establish Critical Process Parameters (CPPs) and Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs).
• Troubleshoot extraction-process and product-quality issues.
• Lead scale-up, process validation, and technology transfer from R&D to commercial production.

R&D Leadership

• Lead the company's R&D strategy and new-product development pipeline.
• Develop new botanical extracts, nutraceutical ingredients, food ingredients, cosmetic actives, and natural-product solutions.
• Manage R&D projects from concept to commercialization.
• Lead and mentor R&D scientists, chemists, and technical staff.
• Work closely with Production, Engineering, Business Development, and senior management.

QA/QC Leadership

• Provide technical leadership for QA/QC activities and establish robust quality systems.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, specifications, batch records, COAs, testing protocols, and quality documentation.
• Establish specifications and testing requirements for raw materials, extracts, intermediates, and finished products.
• Oversee analytical testing including HPLC, GC/GC-MS, LC-MS, FTIR, moisture, microbiology, heavy metals, pesticide residues, and other relevant parameters.
• Lead investigations related to OOS/OOT, deviations, CAPA, customer complaints, and process/product quality issues.
• Support GMP/GLP, HACCP, ISO/FSSC, regulatory, customer, and certification audits.
• Support process, cleaning, equipment, and analytical method validation as applicable.

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Food Technology, Natural Products Chemistry, or related field.
• Theoretical experience, with strong hands-on experience in SCFE/natural-product extraction.
• Proven experience in SCFE process development, optimization, scale-up, and troubleshooting.
• Experience with botanical, nutraceutical, food, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical products preferred.
• Strong understanding of analytical techniques, particularly HPLC and GC/GC-MS.
• Experience in QA/QC systems, GMP/GLP, HACCP, CAPA, OOS/OOT, validation, and audits.
• Strong scientific, analytical, documentation, project-management, and team-leadership skills.
• Ability to work hands-on in both R&D laboratory and commercial manufacturing environments.

A hands-on technical leader who can bridge SCFE technology + R&D + analytical science + QA/QC + commercial manufacturing and build scalable, reproducible, high-quality extraction processes.

Key Success Measures: New product development • Extraction yield & quality • Successful scale-up • Process consistency • Quality compliance • Technology transfer • R&D team development • Continuous improvement

• Starting package: ₹7 LPA, with opportunities for growth based on experience, performance, and contribution.
• Annual performance bonuses linked to individual performance and overall company performance.
• Opportunities to travel across Northeast India for botanical exploration, raw-material evaluation, field studies, and new-product development.
• Domestic and international travel opportunities to attend exhibitions, conferences, technical events, and industry forums.
• Opportunity to work at the intersection of SCFE technology, natural products, R&D, quality, and commercialization.
• Opportunity to play a key role in building and scaling the company's R&D and technical capabilities.
• Exposure to diverse botanical resources and innovative natural-product development projects.

Interested candidates may share their CV along with a summary of relevant SCFE/R&D experience at:

Email:[Confidential Information]