Technology Scout Intern – Part-time

Remote | 10 to 20 hours per week

Debut builds performance beauty ingredients using biotechnology. We take ingredients from discovery through manufacturing and on to formulated beauty products. The team is small, the pace is fast, and the work is commercial from day one.

Summary 

The Technology Scout Intern works directly with the CEO and the team to find, evaluate, and rank external technologies. You will read primary literature and patents, pressure test the claims behind a technology, and deliver a clear call on whether it is real, differentiated, and worth Debut's time and capital. Most assignments run on a short clock. We want a decision, not a survey.

This is a part-time remote role built for a current PhD student who wants to see how scientific judgment drives commercial decisions at the top of a company.

Essential Functions

• Run fast technical diligence on the general themes and broad concepts Debut requires for future programs. Turn around a recommendation in days.
• Read patents and published applications. Identify the independent claims, define what is actually protected, and flag where claim scope is narrower or broader than the marketing suggests.
• Separate a defensible scientific claim from an unsupported one. Say so plainly when the data does not hold up.
• Write one-page briefs: what the technology is, what is novel, what is protected, and what you recommend.
• Maintain a tracker of technologies, companies, and Intellectual Property (IP) across the areas you are assigned.
• Monitor competitor publications, patent filings, and funding activity.
• Prepare technical background ahead of external meetings.
• Brief the CEO directly and defend your conclusion when it gets challenged.

Education and Experience

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in biochemistry, biology, or molecular biology. Skin biology is strongly preferred.
• No MBA. We are not looking for a business degree and we are not looking for someone pursuing one. We want a scientist who can look at a program and tell us whether it will do what Debut needs it to do.
• Able to hold a technical conversation with academic and industry leaders on how a technology works, what it does, and its technology readiness level (TRL).
• Demonstrated ability to read patent literature and extract the major claims, including claim structure and scope.
• Strong command of primary literature. You can judge whether an experiment actually supports its stated conclusion.
• Genuine interest in the commercial side of science. Curiosity about deals, markets, and competitive position.
• Writes short. Conclusion first, evidence second.
• Comfortable making a call on incomplete information and stating your confidence level.
• Self-directed. This role is remote with minimal supervision and a high trust bar.

Essential Physical Characteristics:

• The physical characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of a job, on a case-by-case basis.
• Continuous upward and downward flexion of the neck.
• Frequent sitting, repetitive use of hands to operate computers, printers and copiers.
• Occasional walking, standing, bending and twisting of neck, bending and twisting of waist, squatting, simple grasping, reaching above and below shoulder level, and lifting and carrying of files weighing up to 15 pounds.
• The performance of this position will present exposure to an industrial environment and requires support and compliance with the published Company PPE policy including but not limited to the use of personal protective equipment as needed.

Condition of Employment

As part of Debut’s pre-employment process, prospective candidates will undergo a background check prior to beginning employment. Additional types of background investigations may be conducted based on the job-related activities of the position.

Debut is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

Salary: $17.75/hour