PhD Graduate - Metabolic and Biomanufacturing Process Post Doctoral Fellow

2026 PhD Graduate - Metabolic and Biomanufacturing Process Post Doctoral Fellow

Pay range: $85,300.00/yr - $/yr

Do you marvel at the complexity of metabolism and seek to leverage natural metabolisms in creative ways to develop new technologies? Do you want to apply your expertise in biomanufacturing process engineering to pressing National Security challenges? Do you love contributing your microbial metabolic engineering subject matter expertise to an interdisciplinary team of scientists, focused on developing novel applications? If you answered yes to these questions, we're looking for someone like you to join our team in the Biological Sciences Group, here at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.

We are seeking a highly motivated Metabolic and Biomanufacturing Process Post Doctoral Fellow to contribute to a team focused on engineering microbial metabolic pathways and optimizing biomanufacturing processes, including upstream and downstream processing. As part of the Biological Sciences Group, in the Research Exploratory Development Department, you will be at the forefront of APL's mission to provide impactful contributions to critical challenges.

You will contribute to building outstanding expertise in molecular biology, in the pursuit of challenges in national security.

• Advance existing efforts in metabolic and biomanufacturing process engineering, including metabolic reprogramming of non‑model species, biomanufacturing process optimization, and product purification.
• Be an advocate for your discipline and champion the utility of metabolic and biomanufacturing process engineering in new projects across APL.
• Build new application spaces for metabolic and biomanufacturing process engineering, driving technical innovation and growth in areas relevant to APL sponsors.
• Support study design, execution, and data analysis as a technical leader.
• Communicate key findings both internally across teams and externally to sponsors.
• Work on an interdisciplinary and highly collaborative team to achieve the success of APL’s mission.

• Have a PhD in Molecular Biology, Biology, Biological Engineering, or a similar field with 1‑4+ years of experience in a laboratory setting.
• Have extensive wet lab experience manipulating the metabolism of microbes and experience in scaling metabolite synthesis and purification.
• Demonstrated expertise in molecular biology techniques, including DNA manipulation and plasmid construction, qPCR, protein analysis, plate‑reader assay development, microscopy techniques, and microbial cell culture.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing, executing, and troubleshooting a wide range of biological assays.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills and the ability to lead and contribute to teams from any position.
• Are able to obtain a Top Secret/SCI level security clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

• Have experience working with non‑lab adapted or anaerobic microbes, such as Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
• Have experience working with bio‑electronic experimental systems for many various applications such as microbial electrosynthesis (MES).
• Have experience with yeast, plant, algae, or microbiome systems.
• Have a familiarity with analytical chemistry techniques and equipment including: HPLC, GC/MS, or LC/MS.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world‑class expertise to our nation’s most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our culture. We offer a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere where you can bring your authentic self to work, continue to grow, and build strong connections with inspiring teammates.

At APL, we celebrate our differences of perspectives and encourage creativity and bold, new ideas. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance…