Position: Strain Engineering Scientist
Houston, TX
The Company:
Cemvita is a pioneer in carbon utilization to produce sustainable industrial products. Cemvita was founded in 2017 and has developed BioSolutions for the conversion of carbon waste (including carbon dioxide) into feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel, specialty chemicals, and protein for animal feed. Our carbon-reducing technologies are core to our passion for a net-zero economy. Key Cemvita business partners include United Airlines and OXY.
The Opportunity:
We are seeking an experienced Strain Engineering Scientist to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will have expertise in yeast metabolic engineering, with a focus on non-conventional yeasts, and will contribute to the development of sustainable biotechnologies.
Responsibilities:
- Yeast Metabolic Engineering: Utilize your extensive experience to engineer metabolic pathways in both conventional and non-conventional yeast strains.
- Strain Construction and Evaluation: Design, construct, and evaluate yeast strains using a 96-well format to optimize pathways to produce sustainable products.
- Pathway Assembly: Assemble and optimize biochemical pathways to enhance strain productivity and efficiency.
Requirements:
Education:
- PhD or Master's degree with industry experience (extensive equivalent experience in a relevant field (molecular biology, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology).
Experience:
- Laboratory experience: 3-5+ years of experience in a strain engineering role or a closely related field (e.g., metabolic engineering, genetic engineering).
- Advanced molecular biology techniques: Expertise in more advanced techniques such as:
- Genome editing (CRISPR-Cas, TALENs, etc.)
- Gibson assembly or other high throughput cloning methods
- Yeast transformation and manipulation
- High-throughput screening and assay development
- Next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis (desirable)
- Bioinformatics and bioinformatics tools (desirable)
- Strain design and construction: Demonstrated experience in designing and constructing microbial strains with specific genetic modifications to achieve desired phenotypes.
- Metabolic engineering experience: Understanding of metabolic pathways and the ability to rationally design and engineer metabolic pathways in microorganisms is crucial.
- Data analysis: Proficient in analyzing complex datasets from various sources (e.g., NGS data, high-throughput screens), using statistical analysis software (e.g., R, Python, etc.). Experience with data visualization tools is a plus.
In addition to specific technical skills, all levels should possess strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, excellent record-keeping practices, and the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
What We Offer:
- Competitive compensation packages that include bonuses and equity.
- Generous paid time off, sick time, and paid holidays.
- Medical, dental, vision, disability insurance.
- 401k with company match.
- Social and community activities
- Reward and recognition programs
Cemvita Core Values:
- Keeping each other safe
- Growth-minded
- Innovative
- Resilient
- Solutions-oriented
- Versatile
