Scientist III/Senior Scientist, Fermentation

Job Description

Zymergen is hiring a Scientist III/Senior Scientist with experience in fermentation to lead projects advancing bench-scale and microtiter-plate based fermentation within the company. The Scientist will identify areas of need and address them through developing new technologies or bringing outside technologies into the company.

Immediate responsibilities involve:

• Leading teams working on strain characterization and scale-down of fermentation processes to microtiter-plate scale for a variety of microbes
• Managing Scientists and Research Associates working on a variety of projects
• Working with colleagues in Operations for ongoing troubleshooting and process improvements
• Improving the quality of measurements made in plates and fermenters
• Building automated solutions to improve fermentation operations workflows
• Developing new high throughput plate-based assays to use across a variety of microbes
• Internal and external technology transfer projects

The Fermentation team at Zymergen is essential for screening microbes in high throughput to identify those with improved performance and transferring technologies between Zymergen and our partner organizations. Scientists must bring creativity and perseverance across a variety of large and small projects that contribute to installing, validating, and improving the equipment and processes used by the operations team. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to shape the scientific environment and establish best practices within a growing company.

Qualifications and Experience:

Qualified candidates will have formal training (PhD, MS, or equivalent) in chemical engineering or microbiology. A minimum of 5 years of industry experience is required (8+ is preferred) and experience managing Research Associates and Scientists is ideal. We prefer candidates who are familiar with a variety of bench scale fermentation units and who have experience working with or alongside small scale (microtiter plates) and manufacturing scale fermentation processes. We look for candidates with a track record of developing and running highly accurate and precise fermentation processes for evaluating microbes.

Candidates with experience in some or all of the following areas will make the biggest impact:

• Experience working with a variety of microbes, fermentation processes, and product types
• Strong understanding of the connection between microbial physiology and process performance
• Hands-on experience with bench-scale fermentation and/or plate-based culture methods
• Familiarity with analytical chemistry/assay methods, automation systems, and LIMS
• Strong data analysis skills, including the use of statistics (JMP or similar software) and control charts to monitor and analyze results
• Experience managing technical staff and working on multiple simultaneous programs

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. Zymergen may agree to sponsor an individual for an employment visa now or in the future if there is a shortage of individuals with particular skills for this job.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Founded in 2013 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zymergen is a technology company unlocking the power of biology. We deliver better economics for products made from biology that are used across industries, bring new products to market faster, and develop novel products. Our proprietary platform uses robots and machine learning to engineer microbes faster, more predictably, and to a level of performance previously unattainable. These microbes, and the products they produce, have broad applications across industries such as chemicals and materials, agriculture, and healthcare. For more information visit www.zymergen.com .