Scientist II, Automated Strain Engineering

Lesaffre Group • Brisbane, CA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

Scientist II, Automated Strain Engineering Location: Brisbane, CA Employment Type: Full-time, on-site Elevate the Future with Lesaffre For over 170 years, Lesaffre has been a pioneering force in the world of fermentation, harnessing the power of microorganisms to transform industries from baking to healthcare. As a key global player, we've built a presence in 96 countries, employing 11,000 passionate innovators who share our unwavering commitment to excellence. Driven by our core values of passion, respect, trust, entrepreneurship, and humility, we're constantly pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Our 3-billion euro enterprise collaborates with visionary customers, partners, and researchers to develop essential nutrients and bioactives that strengthen human health, optimize animal well-being, and improve plant nutrition. Discover Recombia! Recombia Biosciences is a dynamic and innovative company that specializes in developing and commercializing cutting-edge microbial solutions. As part of the Lesaffre Group since 2022, Recombia leverages extensive expertise in fermentation and microbiology to apply advanced biotechnology, such as metabolic and genome engineering and synthetic biology, in creating customized microbial strains with enhanced functionalities using precision fermentation. Recombia's mission is to blend biology, engineering, automation, and informatics to improve organism engineering, screening, selection, and scale-up for a wide portfolio of precision fermentation and biomass production applications, serving diverse industries including baking, brewing, bioethanol, flavors, food, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.

Requirements

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, or related field, with 2+ years of relevant industry experience; OR Master's degree with 7+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Expert-level hands-on experience in molecular biology (PCR, DNA purification, molecular cloning, genome editing, DNA assembly, DNA sequencing) of yeast and bacteria.
• Demonstrated expertise in microbial strain construction and characterization, particularly Saccharomyces cerevisiae or other industrially relevant yeasts.
• Ability to analyze sequencing data and perform routine sequence analysis using bioinformatics pipelines.
• Experience designing or adapting protocols for high-throughput workflows.
• Familiarity with LIMS systems (Benchling preferred).
• Proficiency in programming and statistical data analysis using Python, R, or similar.
• Creative and responsible use of AI tools for experiment design, data analysis, or process optimization.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology.
• Hands-on experience with fermentation, bioreactors, or chromatography (HPLC, GC).

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate an unwavering commitment to Lesaffre's safety-first culture by strictly following all safety protocols and participating in required safety programs.
• Develop and onboard new cloning methodologies and strain construction techniques.
• Execute high-quality cloning experiments independently using modular cloning, Gibson Assembly, yeast homologous recombination, PCR, and other techniques.
• Design and execute strain transformation, gene editing, screening, and verification protocols to meet project goals.
• Translate benchtop lab protocols into automation-compatible formats and design experiments to validate output quality and consistency.
• Collaborate with Automation Engineers and Software Developers to translate manual protocols into scalable, automated workflows.
• Apply Python or similar tools for autonomous data analysis and visualization.
• Perform sequence analysis using existing bioinformatics pipelines and make QC decisions.
• Leverage AI creatively for experiment design, data analysis, and process optimization.
• Collaborate with metabolic engineering teams to deliver strains and DNA constructs that enable project success.
• Mentor junior research associates and technicians on technical methods and best practices.
• Contribute to lab operations: ordering supplies, troubleshooting equipment, and preparing materials.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits starting on day one, including health, dental, vision, and 401(k) with employer match.
• 11 paid holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree