Scientist II, Automated Strain EngineeringLocation: Brisbane, CA
Employment Type: Full-time, on-site
Pay Range: $105K to $168K annually commensurate with qualifications and experience
How You'll Contribute To Our SuccessAs a Scientist II in the Automated Strain Engineering (AuSE) Team, you will drive innovation in high-throughput cloning and yeast strain construction. You will develop new cloning methodologies and strain construction techniques, then scale them to high-throughput and automated workflows. You will identify processes for optimization, develop robust manual protocols, and collaborate with our Automation Engineer to translate them into scalable, automated systems. Your work reduces turnaround time, increases capacity, and enables metabolic engineering teams to achieve project goals.
You thrive in a startup-like environment where you wear multiple hats and see problems as opportunities to build better processes. You are a builder and take manual workflows and make them high-throughput, then automated. You mentor junior researchers, help colleagues become more efficient, and think constantly about scaling science and freeing researcher time for creativity.
Who You Are- Excellent cloner: Highly skilled in Golden Gate, Gibson assembly, yeast homologous recombination, and restriction enzyme cloning.
- Strain engineering expert: Deep expertise in microbial genome editing, strain construction and characterization (Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and other microbes).
- Builder: Identify problems, propose solutions, and execute them. Turn manual work into high-throughput and automated processes.
- Sequence analyst: Analyze sequencing data, make QC decisions on DNA constructs, assemble genomes, and run routine sequence analysis.
- Code-capable: Recognize when software solves a lab problem, write simple scripts or adapt existing pipelines, and collaborate with developers on complex tools. AI-assisted approaches are part of your toolkit.
- Team player: Thrive in collaborative, service-oriented environments. Mentor junior researchers, comfortable in fast-moving environments, and pitch in on lab operations.
What You'll Do As a Scientist II, Automated Strain Engineering- Safety
- Demonstrate an unwavering commitment to Lesaffre's safety-first culture by strictly following all safety protocols and participating in required safety programs.
- High-Throughput Cloning & Strain Construction
- Develop and onboard new cloning methodologies and strain construction techniques.
- Execute high-quality cloning experiments independently using modular cloning, Gibson Assembly, yeast homologous recombination, PCR, and other techniques.
- Design and execute strain transformation, gene editing, screening, and verification protocols to meet project goals.
- Process Development
- Translate benchtop lab protocols into automation-compatible formats and design experiments to validate output quality and consistency.
- Collaborate with Automation Engineers and Software Developers to translate manual protocols into scalable, automated workflows.
- Data Management & Analysis
- Apply Python or similar tools for autonomous data analysis and visualization.
- Perform sequence analysis using existing bioinformatics pipelines and make QC decisions.
- Leverage AI creatively for experiment design, data analysis, and process optimization.
- Collaboration & Operations
- Collaborate with metabolic engineering teams to deliver strains and DNA constructs that enable project success.
- Mentor junior research associates and technicians on technical methods and best practices.
- Contribute to lab operations: ordering supplies, troubleshooting equipment, and preparing materials.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required qualifications:- PhD in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, or related field, with 2+ years of relevant industry experience; OR Master's degree with 7+ years of relevant industry experience.
- Expert-level hands-on experience in molecular biology (PCR, DNA purification, molecular cloning, genome editing, DNA assembly, DNA sequencing) of yeast and bacteria.
- Demonstrated expertise in microbial strain construction and characterization, particularly Saccharomyces cerevisiae or other industrially relevant yeasts.
- Ability to analyze sequencing data and perform routine sequence analysis using bioinformatics pipelines.
- Experience designing or adapting protocols for high-throughput workflows.
- Familiarity with LIMS systems (Benchling preferred).
- Proficiency in programming and statistical data analysis using Python, R, or similar.
- Creative and responsible use of AI tools for experiment design, data analysis, or process optimization.
Preferred qualifications:- Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology.
- Hands-on experience with fermentation, bioreactors, or chromatography (HPLC, GC).
