Senior Research Associate

FutureBio is hiring a creative senior research associate who is eager to contribute to the better future for the global environment and sustainability. The research associate, with in-depth expertise in metabolic engineering, genetic engineering and molecular biology, will work closely with our CEO, CTO and passionate scientist groups to develop and optimize the microbial strain manufacturing platform to facilitate the commercialization of our innovative target products. This job offers an exciting opportunity to advance your career in strain engineering and experience multidisciplinary collaborations in fields of materials science, process development and environment sustainability, as well as shaping a better path and culture of FutureBio, as an early-stage startup. 

• Develop, construct and engineer Escherichia coli and other microorganism strains to produce target products and optimize their yield and productivity to approach the commercialization requirements.

• Design and construct vectors and integration cassettes for DNA expressions and genomic engineering in microbial strains.

• Conduct microplate and flask-level small-scale cell culture growth.

• Analyze data on cell performance and product productions. 

• Collaborate with the fermentation scientist to evaluate cell performance and productions in scaled-up growth under 1-L level or higher and engineer the strains to maintain improved performance under scaled up fermentations.

• Record all data and experimental notes and attend routine meetings to report the research progress and plans.

• Conceive or introduce new ideas by mining scientific literature and in-house results and models.

• Contribute to generation and documentation of intellectual property.

• Build amicable working relationships with fellow scientists and research associates.

• B.Sc or M.Sc in bioengineering, chemical engineering, molecular biology, or biochemistry or a related discipline.

• More than three years of experience in the biomanufacturing industry.

• Experience in strain engineering of microorganisms like Escherichia coli is a plus.

• Proficient with microbial genetic engineering (Gibson assembly, Golden gate assembly, CRISPR, etc.) and molecular biology bench work.

• Sufficient knowledge and experience in analysis (LC-MS, HPLC etc.) is a plus.

• Sufficient knowledge and experience with 1-L and higher scale bioreactor fermentation is a plus.

• Strong independent working, problem solving, planning and communication (written, verbal) skills.

• Flexibility and adaptability to meet the fast-paced, dynamic needs of a startup environment.

• Stock options

• Insurance coverage including health, dental and vision

• Unlimited paid time off