Research Associate, Microbiology

Job description - Research Associate in Microbiology

Conagen Inc. is a leader in cutting-edge bio-manufacturing. We engineer organisms to produce high-value molecules that are essential to our well-being. Our focus is on food, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and renewable materials. We employ the latest synthetic biology tools to design metabolic pathways and produce safe and high-quality products. Science and innovation are the driving forces of our mission. We believe in a green future.

Job Description Overview:

We are currently seeking a Research Associate to support projects related to production of high-valued natural products using engineered microorganisms. The candidate is expected to have a strong background in molecular biology, microbiology, metabolic engineering, chemical engineering and/or other related disciplines. Strong technical, organizational, and communication skills, as well as the ability to develop creative solutions to challenging problems, are essential.

Responsibility:

• Culture and metabolic engineering on E. coli , yeast and/or other microbial strains to produce desired molecules.
• Design and create engineered strains, through molecular approach, for industrial application. Perform gene construction, transformation, and expression to synthesize small molecules/recombinant proteins/enzymes in microbial strains.
• Familiarity with standard molecular biology techniques such as PCR, Gibson assembly, Golden Gate assembly, standard Restriction / Ligation assembly.
• Routinely perform flask and plate-based fermentations to monitor production of target molecules including various extraction techniques.
• Operate laboratory and experimental equipment such as spectrophotometers, centrifuges, HPLC, FPLC, LC/MS and GC/MS.
• Utilize sequence analysis software and other basic bioinformatics tools.
• Work collaboratively with other team members to accomplish project goals and milestones.
• Work collaboratively with the analytical and automation teams.
• Routinely tracking and documenting results in laboratory notebooks and databases.
• Analyze, summarize, and present experimental results to team leader and other team members.
• Extra consideration for enzymology experience including expressing proteins in E. coli or yeast.

Qualification:

· A Bachelor's degree or Master's degree in metabolic engineering, molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, or other related fields.

· Strong background in metabolic engineering, molecular biology, protein engineering, and synthetic biology with experience in recombinant DNA technologies, protein analysis, enzymatic assays, and cell transformation.

· Experience in the engineering of metabolic pathways in microbial hosts is highly preferred.

· Familiarity with analytical techniques for metabolite detection such as spectrophotometers, HPLC, LC/MS, and GC/MS.

· Familiarity with diverse software packages for data processing and statistical analysis, primer design and sequence blasting and alignment.

Must be highly motivated and able to work independently while also possessing exceptional communication and teamwork skills.

Equal Employment Opportunity: We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer - and celebrate our employees' differences, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.