What are the responsibilities and job description for the Strain Development Scientist position at Kula Bio?
We are on the brink of something big and it feels good! We know our product has the potential to have a global impact. Strong Science, New Technology, and Influential Leadership has positioned us for success. Kula Bio is a leader in sustainable nitrogen solutions, helping farmers improve crop yield and reduce environmental impact.
As part of the Discovery Team at Kula Bio, you will help develop and execute an innovative research program in soil bacteriology/microbial ecology. In this role you are the expert, you will perform strain improvement of wild-type soil/rhizosphere bacteria by applying state-of-the-art technologies such as gene-editing (CRISPR), directed evolution, or high-throughput screens to improve target functions. On a regular day, you will develop and execute biochemical and/or microbiological assays to evaluate strain performance, research, test, and implement analytical tools for evaluation, solve technical and non-technical problems throughout the life of the project and resolve problems during the design and planning phases. In addition, you will collaborate to introduce new products through the stage gate process toward the establishment of a commercial product pipeline.
To thrive in this role, you have incorporated state-of-the-art approaches to soil/rhizosphere bacteria strain development or similar processes. You are capable of working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and multi-tasking. You are an independent decision maker able to plan and execute work orders with minimal supervision. You have managed and mentored a small team as well as managed complex projects. You have an interest in finding sustainable solutions and want to be part of a driven and diverse team.
- Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Metabolic Engineering, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Bacteriology or a related field with at least three (3) years of experience beyond PhD.
- Expert in soil/bacteria nitrogen cycle that have hands-on wet lab and in silico familiarity with soil-born bacteria strain development technologies, including metabolic flux analysis and synthetic biology technologies, specifically gene editing.
- Solid practical experience in bioinformatics and omics technologies for genome mining.
- Experience with genome-scale metabolic modeling and simulation.
- Promote and demonstrate safe behaviors through personal and team participation in Safety, Health, and EnSvironment (SHE) activities.
- Ability to oversee and coordinate work performed by outside contractors.
- Ability to balance scientific creativity with technical innovation while managing and developing spending plans that meet requirements regarding technical quality, reliability, schedule and cost
- Ability to regularly communicate data and project updates