Searching for a new R&D opportunity that would give you the ability to build biotechnology-relevant platforms to produce important nutritional compounds? Are you an expert in metabolic engineering, systems biology and love working as part of team toward a common goal? Are you interested in working for an industry leader that values safety, sustainability, and employee development? If you’re an experienced PhD level scientist with a proven record of accomplishment as a subject matter expert in microbial biotechnology and/or genetics – this could be the perfect match for you!

The Challenge

DSM Nutritional Products is recruiting a Scientist/Senior Scientist to join the Strain Development Team in Columbia, MD. This person will apply subject matter expertise in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology and systems biology to improve key characteristics of yeast, fungi, bacteria, algae or other microorganisms used for the biosynthesis of nutritional products; and will be responsible for research activities around the development of microbial platforms to produce nutritional compounds. This position will integrate corporate strategy with a broad range of biotechnology approaches for the genetic engineering of yeast or other microorganisms used for the biosynthesis of nutritional products. You will be part of a global team, responsible for designing experiments, doing experiments, analyzing data, reporting results, and advising on next steps in a fast-paced environment to deliver on milestones of projects. You will also be responsible for linking activities in strain engineering with those in other functional disciplines, including but not limited to bioinformatics, bioprocess development and analytical chemistry. In addition to supporting internal projects, you will be responsible for managing interactions with external partners and collaborators (industrial and/or academic).

In The Role Of Strain Engineering Scientist, You Will

• direct strain engineering design, execute experiments, analyze, and report on results for the projects within budget and time constraints defined in the plans
• communicate with internal and external collaborators
• routinely report to senior management and stakeholders to deliver corporate goals
• use corporate strategies and values as a framework to guide strain engineering directivesSupervise, train, and develop junior scientists
• promote a positive, safe, and compliant work environment
• combine advanced genetic & genome engineering techniques with classical genetics approaches to improve performance
• evaluate a variety of microorganisms (including yeast and algae) for biotechnology potential
• generate intellectual property that provides value to the company
• maintain a deep understanding of related technologies that can be used for improving internal capability

Education And Required Skills

• Ph.D. in a life sciences discipline required; PhD in Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering or Genetics preferred
• education and work experience:
  • Scientist: Ph.D. level with minimum 2 years of relevant (post-doctoral and/or industry) experience required
  • Senior Scientist: Ph.D. level with minimum 5 years of relevant (post-doctoral and/or industry) experience required
• strong technical expertise with a record of accomplishment in microbial biotechnology; genetics; genome editing; genomics; metabolic engineering; and capability development
• demonstrated excellence in metabolic engineering and systems biology (e.g. publications, patents) a must. Experience with the use of new technologies such as CRISPR and the use of Synthetic Biology approaches would be an advantage
• broad knowledge of cellular metabolism, microbial physiology and biochemistry a must
• experience with Geneious, Spotfire and GeneSpring software or equivalent preferred
• research experience with microbes required; experience in yeast and algae preferred
• experience directly managing others
• experience working with inter-disciplinary teams and external collaborators preferred
• understanding of scale-up biotechnology operations preferred
• experience in generating intellectual property and making patentable discoveries preferred
• must be motivated, possess good interpersonal skills, communicate well within and between teams and be able to work to tight deadlines
• ability to prioritize responsibilities and work effectively in a matrix environment

Interested in this position? Please apply online by sending us your resume and cover letter via the career portal (www.dsm.com/careers). Reference check procedures are part of the DSM Recruitment & Selection Process. You will be contacted when these references checks are required.