The Opportunity
ZymoChem is hiring a Research Associate, Strain Engineering/ Biology to join a rapidly expanding R&D team and help drive the company's metabolic pathway development and strain optimization efforts. In this fast-paced, technical milestone-oriented role, you will have a breadth of opportunities to acquire diverse experiences & skills with enzyme development, strain characterization, high-throughput automated screening, and design-of-experiments. Additional responsibilities for this role will include building out & expanding the Strain Development Group's capabilities with state-of-the-art technologies as well as routinely interfacing with other groups such as the Analytics and Fermentation Teams.
Responsibilities
- Design of experiments, execution & optimization of protocols, and collection & processing data with a focus on strain characterization for achieving targeted TRY metrics of small molecule products
- Implement molecular and synthetic biology workflows for the construction of plasmids, strains, and enzymes to facilitate strain characterization and pathway optimization efforts
- Develop and carry out high-throughput microbial cell culture workflows for the routine assessment of new strains
- Assist with in vitro and in vivo enzymatic assays
- Interface with the company's data management system to record strain and enzyme-based data
- Effectively communicate and collaborate with other R&D groups, including the Molecular Biology, Fermentation, and Analytics Teams
- Manage the streamlined operation of the Strain Development Group by routinely preparing sterile materials, reagents, and media as well as maintaining the group's chemicals and consumables inventories
- Other duties may be assigned.
Qualifications
- MS or BS in Biochemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology or a related discipline
- Level of Associate is dependent on years of experience with 1-5 years of relevant lab/ industrial/ start-up experience being preferred. Relevant experience should align with department specific requirements.
- Expertise with bacterial physiology and the execution of microbial cell cultures in the context of biosynthetic pathway development & characterization is strongly preferred; additional experience with other industrially relevant microorganisms is a plus
- Hands on experience with synthetic biology and strain engineering techniques such as PCR, Gibson Assembly, restriction digestion, ligation, and homologous recombination
- Experience with protein expression, purification, and enzymatic assays
- Rigorous attention to details with experimental design, execution, noise/variability, reproducibility, and recordkeeping
- Keen sense for both physical (lab) and data-oriented organization
- Excellent time management skills, effective with multitasking, and an adept ability to improvise work plans while maintaining efficiency
Culture and Benefits
We are a mission-driven team building the future of sustainable materials. At ZymoChem, you'll work on bold ideas with smart, collaborative people while enjoying benefits that support you to have work & life balance.
Full-time opportunities at ZymoChem come with:
- Competitive pay range of $80,000-114,000 based on experience.
- Company stock options
- 401(k) retirement plan (traditional and Roth) with up to 4% company match
- 100% Employee coverage on base medical, dental, and vision plans and up to 80% dependent coverage. and life and long-term disability insurance.
- Additional benefits include FSA, commuter, and supplemental life insurance.
- Flexible time off policy with 18 days Paid Time Off (PTO) per year and 11 paid company holidays per year.
- Relocation assistance may be agreed upon as well.
- Monthly Team all-hands and social events.
If this opportunity sounds exciting and aligns with your career aspirations, we want to hear from you! Please send your resume/CV and a cover letter through our website job posting.
