Research Associate, Biology

ZymoChem • San Leandro, CA

4d • $80,000 - $114,000

About The Position

ZymoChem is pioneering breakthrough science for a fossil-free future. We are building bio-based materials that make everyday products better for people and the planet, accelerating the world’s transition to a true zero-carbon economy. Backed by $65M in funding from global leaders including lululemon, Toyota Ventures, Breakout Ventures, and major U.S. government agencies (DOE, DOD), ZymoChem is scaling rapidly. With our Series B anticipated in early 2026, we are expanding across all teams to accelerate the commercialization of our products. At ZymoChem, our culture is rooted in curiosity, innovation, and collaboration. We tackle complex scientific challenges with determination and succeed because of the strength of our diverse, multidisciplinary teams working toward a bold mission. As a Certified B Corporation and Public Benefit Corporation, we hold ourselves accountable not only to scientific and commercial excellence, but also to creating measurable impact for people and the planet. If you are motivated by advancing science, addressing climate-scale challenges, and shaping the future of sustainable materials, ZymoChem offers the opportunity to make a lasting difference.
Our Mission: To catalyze a real-zero economy with drop-in, bio-based solutions.
Our Vision: To live in a world in which the goods we depend on every day are bio-manufactured from 100% renewable materials and designed for a sustainable economy - without compromise.
Our Values: Lead with Compassion, Aspire Collectively, Evolve Continuously, Innovate with Impact, Scale Sustainably
The Opportunity
ZymoChem is hiring a Research Associate, Strain Engineering/ Biology to join a rapidly expanding R&D team and help drive the company’s metabolic pathway development and strain optimization efforts. In this fast-paced, technical milestone-oriented role, you will have a breadth of opportunities to acquire diverse experiences & skills with enzyme development, strain characterization, high-throughput automated screening, and design-of-experiments. Additional responsibilities for this role will include building out & expanding the Strain Development Group’s capabilities with state-of-the-art technologies as well as routinely interfacing with other groups such as the Analytics and Fermentation Teams.

Requirements

• MS or BS in Biochemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology or a related discipline
• 1-5 years of relevant lab/ industrial/ start-up experience being preferred.
• Expertise with bacterial physiology and the execution of microbial cell cultures in the context of biosynthetic pathway development & characterization is strongly preferred
• Hands on experience with synthetic biology and strain engineering techniques such as PCR, Gibson Assembly, restriction digestion, ligation, and homologous recombination
• Experience with protein expression, purification, and enzymatic assays
• Rigorous attention to details with experimental design, execution, noise/variability, reproducibility, and recordkeeping
• Keen sense for both physical (lab) and data-oriented organization
• Excellent time management skills, effective with multitasking, and an adept ability to improvise work plans while maintaining efficiency
• Legal authorization to work in the United States is required.

Nice To Haves

• additional experience with other industrially relevant microorganisms is a plus

Responsibilities

• Design of experiments, execution & optimization of protocols, and collection & processing data with a focus on strain characterization for achieving targeted TRY metrics of small molecule products
• Implement molecular and synthetic biology workflows for the construction of plasmids, strains, and enzymes to facilitate strain characterization and pathway optimization efforts
• Develop and carry out high-throughput microbial cell culture workflows for the routine assessment of new strains
• Assist with in vitro and in vivo enzymatic assays
• Interface with the company’s data management system to record strain and enzyme-based data
• Effectively communicate and collaborate with other R&D groups, including the Molecular Biology, Fermentation, and Analytics Teams
• Manage the streamlined operation of the Strain Development Group by routinely preparing sterile materials, reagents, and media as well as maintaining the group’s chemicals and consumables inventories
• Other duties may be assigned.

Benefits

• Company stock options
• 401(k) retirement plan (traditional and Roth) with up to 4% company match
• 100% Employee coverage on base medical, dental, and vision plans and up to 80% dependent coverage.
• life and long-term disability insurance.
• FSA, commuter, and supplemental life insurance.
• Flexible time off policy with 18 days Paid Time Off (PTO) per year and 11 paid company holidays per year.
• Relocation assistance may be agreed upon as well.
• Monthly Team all-hands and social events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree