Scientist II, Strain Engineering

Perfect Day

330

Berkeley, CA, United States

Posted on: 2022-05-16

Category: food

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Expired

Employment type:

Full time

Experience required:

Intermediate

Salary

Salary not provided

About the company:

At Perfect Day, we believe in empowering people to enjoy the dairy foods they love - products full of delicious taste and luscious texture - while making the world a kinder, greener place.

We make milk protein that is nutritionally identical to protein from cow's milk, but made using flora fermentation instead of animals. We're working with food and dairy companies to deliver high-quality protein and products that are delicious, nourishing, sustainable, and humane.

It's #KinderGreenerDairy for people, planet, and animals - without the compromise.

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 an enthusiastic and skilled Scientist I/II to join our strain engineering team and support strain development in filamentous fungi. You will be working independently or as part of a team to develop experimental plans to generate production strains, develop and implement strain engineering technologies in filamentous fungi.

Perfect Day is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

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!

YOUR CONTRIBUTION:

Essential functions:

Design and construct DNA for strain engineering using molecular biology methods.

Generate and engineer fungal strains for protein expression.

Design and conduct research to improve protein expression and/or strain engineering workflow. Develop and implement new technologies for strain engineering.

Prepare and present technical reports and regulatory documentation.

Other functions:

WGS analysis for fungal genomics.

Provide technical and scientific support to team members.

Effectively communicate project goals, progress, and achievements with internal and external teams.

Mentor and supervise junior members of the team.

Stay current on relevant IP, literature, and technology developments.

Competencies:

Open-minded, motivated, detail-oriented, organized, and a team player.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, to effectively communicate and report in a collaborative and dynamic environment.

Strong analytic mindset with a bio-statistical background.

Effective planning, multi-tasking, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.

Capable of providing training and mentorship to junior staff to develop competency in strain engineering strategies and recombinant protein production.

Promote a positive and inclusive workplace culture

Be an advocate for and adhere to all laboratory safety (including COVID-19) protocols.

Comfortable working in a fast-paced, startup environment

KNOWLEDGE AND REQUIRED SKILLS:

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Microbial Engineering, Microbial Genetics or Microbiology, Metabolic engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines is required, plus 2+ years of relevant (ideally industrial) experience. Min 2 years of relevant experience in microorganism engineering and protein expression is required. Fungal strain engineering experience is preferred.

Strain engineering experience using modern gene-editing technologies.

Experience with construct design, sequencing, and/or bioinformatics analysis software.

A proven record of publications and/or patent applications (depending on experience).

Preferred but not Required:

Automation and/or robotics are a plus.

Experience with library design, construction, and high throughput screening.

WGS & ONT sequencing experience is preferred.

Experience with JMP, or other data analysis, visualization, and statistical tools is a plus.

Experience with Python, R, or other programming languages is desirable.

Bench scale fermentation experience.

Small-scale cultivation and assay development.

Project leading experience.

Metabolic Pathway engineering experience.

Experience with ddPCR, RT-PCR, and inverse PCR.

DNA sequencing experience.

Experience with microbial physiology.

Experience with Microbial Phenotype Microarrays.

Experience with protein engineering.

Potential rare travel to business partners or conferences, up to 2%.

Physical Requirements and Additional Needs:

Close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus, with or without corrective lenses.

Ability to stand or sit for prolonged periods at a given time; reach, climb, kneel, bend, push and/or pull, and at times lift objects as heavy as 25 lbs.

Mixture of laboratory (including standard laboratory hazards) and office. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Perfect Day employees are following strict social distancing guidelines in the lab to make sure everyone can perform their work in a safe and relaxed environment.

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