Senior-Research Associate - Strain and Enzyme Engineering

Waltham, MA (Onsite)

Permanent

We are currently partnered with an innovative biotechnology company that is using synthetic biology and advanced microbial engineering to develop sustainable alternatives to traditionally sourced chemicals and ingredients. As they continue to expand their R&D team, they are looking for a Senior/Research Associate to support strain engineering and enzyme engineering programs. This is a hands‑on laboratory role where you'll work closely with multidisciplinary teams to engineer microbial strains, generate analytical data, and contribute directly to research programs that move from early discovery through process development.

• Design, construct, and validate plasmids for microbial strain engineering.
• Engineer and characterize E. coli strains using modern molecular biology techniques, including chromosomal integration methods.
• Culture, maintain, and screen engineered microbial strains in both liquid and solid media.
• Prepare fermentation and biological samples for downstream analytical testing.
• Operate GC and/or LC instrumentation to evaluate strain performance and generate high‑quality analytical data.
• Analyze experimental results, identify trends, and present findings to cross‑functional project teams.

• Research Associate: Bachelor’s degree with up to 4 years of relevant industry experience.
• Senior Research Associate: Bachelor’s degree with 4-7 years or Master’s degree with 2-4 years of relevant experience.
• Background in molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, bioengineering, chemistry, or a related life science discipline.
• Experience with molecular cloning techniques such as Gibson Assembly, Golden Gate Assembly, or restriction enzyme cloning.
• Hands‑on experience culturing and screening engineered microbial strains.
• Experience with GC and/or LC analytical techniques is highly desirable.

• chromosomal integration in
  
  E. coli (CRISPR, recombineering, etc.).
• Benchling or other LIMS platforms.
• Python, SQL, JMP, or similar data analysis tools.
• GC-MS or LC-MS experience.
• Fermentation sample preparation and extraction workflows.
• Automated liquid handling platforms.