Strain Engineering Scientist Ii/iii/senior

Strain Engineering Scientist II/III/Senior

About Lygos

Lygos, Inc. is a specialty chemical company that helps customers meet their highest performance and sustainability goals. Lygos’ bio-inspired solutions are designed to replace persistent and carbon-intensive chemicals with products that are better, cleaner, and cost effective.  With a proprietary and fully integrated platform of the most advanced technologies across synthetic biology, industrial chemistry, and application development, a pipeline of innovative products, a first-of-its-kind Sustainable Solutions Center, and an integrated supply chain, Lygos is accelerating the world’s transition to high-performing, sustainable solutions. 

Lygos recently launched its Soltellus™ biodegradable polymer product line, with applications in home and personal care, water treatment and agricultural applications, and Ecoteria™ products, that have applications in fragrances as well as for coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE).

About the Position

Lygos is seeking to hire a skilled Scientist II/III/Senior that will work as part of a collaborative team to drive our development of new microbial strains and processes for improved production of bio-based chemicals. Ideally, this person will have experience with yeast and/or bacterial genetic engineering, culturing, and have an in-depth understanding of microbial physiology and metabolism as it relates to metabolic engineering for small molecule production. The position will involve genetic engineering method development, designing DNA expression and integration cassettes, building and screening strains and combinatorial enzyme/strain libraries, enzyme characterization, measurement and analysis of strain performance, and the development and application of assays to improve strain performance, enzyme properties, or interrogate cellular conditions. At Lygos, a Scientist II/III/Senior is expected to be a leader in the lab, and to be capable of working independently while mentoring and overseeing the activities of more junior staff. Lygos offers a diverse, respectful, and supportive workplace.

Role & Responsibilities:

• Work within the Biotechnology team to efficiently and accurately develop and test new strain engineering hypotheses and overcome production bottlenecks
• Lead design and construction efforts of DNA expression and integration cassettes and generate genetically engineered microbes and protein engineering libraries
• Perform protein purification and design and conduct in vitro experiments to characterize enzyme kinetics
• Develop new molecular biology tools and methodologies to enable more efficient strain engineering and optimization
• Design experiments to screen production performance of new microbial strains and libraries and interpret resulting data
• Implement systems biology approaches to understand cellular bottlenecks and determine new strain engineering targets
• Engage in technical discussions, research planning, and regularly present results at company meetings
• Maintain good laboratory practices and participate in the development of standard operating procedures
• Work collaboratively with Lygos’ fermentation, downstream processing, and analytical departments to support career development and facilitate the learning of new skill sets
• Mentor and supervise Research Associates and more junior Scientists

Qualifications & Experience:

• Ph.D. in chemical engineering, bioengineering, molecular biology, or biochemistry (or related field), with >2, >5, or >8 years of relevant experience for Scientist II, III, and Senior respectively
• Proficient with microbial genetic engineering and molecular biology bench work
• Experience with metabolic and protein engineering
• Experience with coding in Python and/or R and analyzing large datasets
• Experience with general lab procedures, sterile techniques, and data interpreting/reporting 
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, multitasking environment
• Strong organization skills and proven ability to manage details
• Energetic, creative, team player
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to motivate team members and support a strong, healthy, collaborative laboratory culture
• Ability to deliver on projects and assignments within timeframes

Nice-to-haves (but not required):

• Experience with computational and experimental systems biology methodologies is a plus (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, FBA/stoichiometric metabolic models)
• Experience automating molecular biology and screening workflows is a plus
• Experience in a synthetic biology/metabolic engineering startup or industrial biotechnology company is a plus

Compensation and Benefits: Lygos offers highly competitive salaries, stock options, bonus and benefits, including medical and dental insurance, unlimited paid time off, and 401(k).

Salary Range: $126,000 - $176,000 -  Actual pay will vary based on various factors, including but not limited to location, skill, experience, and performance. 

The benefits and stock purchase described above are subject to the terms and conditions of any governing plans, policies, practices, agreements, or other materials or documents as in effect from time to time, including but not limited to terms and conditions regarding eligibility.

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required.  We are not able to sponsor individuals for employment visas for this job.  

Location information:

This position is for our Hayward, CA location - there is no relocation assistance offered at this time.