Sr. Scientist, Strain Engineering (Lead)

Company: Lever
Location: Berkeley
Posted on: February 23, 2021

Job Description:

Sr. Scientist, Strain Engineering (Lead) It's a Perfect Day to change the world! At Perfect Day, we're doing just that. Perfect Day was founded in 2014 to create delicious, nutritious dairy products that everyone can love. We're using fermentation (not animals) to make dairy proteins that are the foundation for foods like ice cream, cheese and yogurt - all with the distinctive taste and textures that consumers demand, but without lactose or environmental downsides.--Through partnerships with respected brands, we're working to launch a whole range of dairy products that will help shape a humane, sustainable food system for future generations.-- Perfect Day is working to commercialize animal-free dairy protein products manufactured via fungal fermentation. We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Senior Scientist to Lead our Strain Engineering team. The ideal candidate will be smart, curious, open-minded, motivated, detail-oriented, organized & a team player with a proactive approach to research & development. They will lead the Strain Engineering group, at the heart of our interdisciplinary team, which is working to bring Perfect Day products to market. YOU WILL:

• Be a self-starter with excellent organizational & communication skills
• Be highly effective at planning and problem-solving.
• Have excellent interpersonal and management skills, including mentorship of early career scientists
• Be a positive and enthusiastic team member
• Promote a positive and inclusive workplace culture
• Be passionate about changing the food space. YOUR ROLE WILL BE TO;
  • Employ your expertise in classical & advanced techniques relevant for strain engineering (e.g. genetics, molecular biology, genomics) & successful novel gene editing strategies to generate consistently improved production strains.
  • In conjunction with HTS, select winning strains for further improvement and promotion to fermentation.
  • Help develop and implement potentially novel techniques & automated workflows to improve & expand the team's capabilities & efficiency, leading to enhanced protein production & screening capacity.
  • Employ a variety of techniques for understanding, troubleshooting, and debottlenecking our systems.
  • Be productive in the lab when required (up to 40% time).
  • Utilize your experience of DoE & statistics to enable appropriate data generation & robust data analysis.
  • Maintain the highest standards for our strains' quality & integrity, ensuring the timely production & delivery of QC'd vial batches for fermentation & tech transfer.
  • As a potential Project Leader develop goals & timelines and adapt (communicating changes to project members & upper management) in our fast-paced environment.
  • Support resource management and project planning across the Strain Engineering team.
  • Meet deadlines, be focused on detail & have an emphasis on quality.
  • Travel as necessary, domestically & internationally, to support projects.
  • Collaborate and communicate effectively with internal and international cross functional teams.
  • Communicate team performance to executive leadership.
  • Track relevant IP & technological developments in the scientific literature.
  • Provide training and mentorship to junior staff to develop competency in strain engineering strategies & recombinant protein production.
  • Conduct performance evaluations, review career development plans & manage the Strain Engineering department budget.
  • Operate according to the company's Mission, Vision & Values.
  • Be an advocate for and adhere to all laboratory safety (including COVID-19) protocols. ADDITIONAL DESIRED EXPERIENCE:
    • Library design, construction & screening
    • Automation/robotics
    • Detailed knowledge of fungal physiology/biochemistry
    • Metabolomics KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
      • PhD in Fungal Molecular Genetics, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Microbial Genetics, Biochemical Engineering, or a related discipline, plus 5+ years of relevant (ideally industrial) experience, with 2-3 years of experience supervising direct reports successfully, and a proven record of publications &/or patent applications (depending on experience). It's a Perfect Day to change the world. The day when delicious dairy goodness is something everyone can love. The day we say goodbye to the downsides of factory farming. The day we throw a big party with luscious, animal-free milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, all made with Perfect Day! We hope you join us!--

Keywords: Lever, Berkeley , Sr. Scientist, Strain Engineering (Lead), Engineering , Berkeley, California