Synthetic Biology Automation Engineer

Red Star Yeast Company • Brisbane, CA

297d • $100,000 - $125,000

About The Position

Lesaffre is a key global player in the fermentation of microorganisms (yeasts and bacteria) for baking, taste, healthcare and industrial biotechnology. This story began more than 170 years ago in northern France, and, thanks to our pioneer spirit and our innovative approach, we are constantly developing. Lesaffre's global presence includes 11,000 employees from 96 nationalities and a 3-billion euro turnover. We work with customers, partners and researchers to develop essential nutrients and bio actives that strengthen human health, optimize animal well-being and improve plant nutrition. This role is within Recombia Biosciences a metabolic engineering company part of the Lesaffre Group since 2022. Recombia Biosciences specializes in the development and commercialization of innovative microbial solutions for various industries, including agriculture, food, and biofuels. Leveraging Lesaffre's extensive expertise in fermentation and microbiology, Recombia focuses on applying advanced biotechnology, such as metabolic and genome engineering and synthetic biology, to create customized microbial strains with enhanced functionalities using precision fermentation.

Requirements

• B.S. or M.S. in Engineering, Physics, Biotechnology, Biology, or related field
• 1 or more years of automation experience in an industrial biotechnology setting
• Experience programming i-series Biomek liquid handler
• Experience with Integrated System Scheduling Software (Momentum, Cellario, etc)
• Programming experience (Python, VBA, R)
• Ability to analyze data by writing custom scripts or using Excel
• Previous experience with microbiology and molecular biology lab practices and protocols

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with Benchling LIMS
• Passion for microbial synthetic biology and a desire to learn more about the science of strain engineering
• Proficiency in French to foster collaboration with Lesaffre (spoken and written)

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and maintain an integrated automation system and other laboratory instruments for synthetic biology and NGS workflows (liquid handlers, plate readers, incubators, centrifuges)
• Program and evaluate methods on liquid handlers (Biomek)
• Validate liquid handling methods to determine accuracy and precision
• Utilize systems to track critical process metrics (number of samples processed, consumables used, machine downtime, cost per sample per run, etc)
• Collaborate with the Lesaffre Biofoundry engineers to produce innovative hardware, process, and software engineering solutions to synthetic biology problems
• Work closely with scientists and RAs to propose and develop liquid handling or automated solutions for their experiments
• Maintain all commonly used lab equipment (liquid handlers, plate readers, incubators, centrifuges, label printers) to ensure quality output and operation
• Coordinate repairs, preventative maintenance, and installations for different devices with field service engineers
• Communicate the status of your progress to team members, collaborators, and upper management
• Complete tasks efficiently, independently, and within stated deadlines
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• A competitive 401K plan
• Affordable benefits starting on day 1 of employment
• 11 paid holidays
• Opportunities for continuous growth within your role and across business units

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Food Manufacturing
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree