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Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Define, plan, or execute biofuels/biodiesel research programs that evaluate alternative feedstock and process technologies with near-term commercial potential.

Related: Biofuels Production Managers Biomass Power Plant Managers Chemical Engineers Geothermal Production Managers Manufacturing Engineers

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Conduct experiments on biomass or pretreatment technologies.
Develop lab scale models of industrial scale processes, such as fermentation.
Analyze data from biofuels studies, such as fluid dynamics, water treatments, or solvent extraction and recovery processes.
Propose new biofuels products, processes, technologies or applications based on findings from applied biofuels or biomass research projects.
Develop methods to recover ethanol or other fuels from complex bioreactor liquid and gas streams.
Prepare, or oversee the preparation of, experimental plans for biofuels research or development.
Conduct research to breed or develop energy crops with improved biomass yield, environmental adaptability, pest resistance, production efficiency, bioprocessing characteristics, or reduced environmental impacts.
Develop separation processes to recover biofuels.
Prepare biofuels research and development reports for senior management or technical professionals.
Design or execute solvent or product recovery experiments in laboratory or field settings.
Design or conduct applied biodiesel or biofuels research projects on topics, such as transport, thermodynamics, mixing, filtration, distillation, fermentation, extraction, and separation.
Develop methods to estimate the efficiency of biomass pretreatments.
Provide technical or scientific guidance to technical staff in the conduct of biofuels research or development.
Conduct experiments to test new or alternate feedstock fermentation processes.
Develop computational tools or approaches to improve biofuels research and development activities.
Oversee biodiesel/biofuels prototyping or development projects.
Design chemical conversion processes, such as etherification, esterification, interesterification, transesterification, distillation, hydrogenation, oxidation or reduction of fats and oils, and vegetable oil refining.
Perform protein functional analysis and engineering for processing of feedstock and creation of biofuels.

Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

5 years or more work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

181080/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

87.06/hr

Currently Employed

4,890

Yearly Projected Openings

400

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Adaptability/Flexibility
Analytical Thinking
Dependability
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Stress Tolerance

Autosamplers
Bi distillation units
Carbon filtration equipment
Desktop computers
Dissolved oxygen meters
Extracting equipment for laboratories
Flow sensors
Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators
Gas chromatographs
Gel documentation systems
HEPA filtered enclosures
High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography
Inverted microscopes
Laboratory flasks
Level sensors or transmitters
Mass spectrometers
Microbiology fermentation equipment
Mixers or agitators
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Pressure indicators
Protective gloves
Rapid amplification or complementary deoxyribonucleic acid ends RACE technology products
Remote reading thermometers
Safety glasses
Shaking incubators
Spectrophotometers
Standard fermentation units
Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
pH meters