SOLUGEN

14549 Minetta St., Houston TX 77035 

POSITION

Research Scientist - Strain Engineering

ABOUT SOLUGEN

With innovation and the commitment to lowering carbon footprint, Solugen Inc. is commercializing a novel chemo-enzymatic process to manufacture value-added chemicals from biobased feedstocks for a variety of uses and applications. Solugen was founded in 2016 and is a venture-backed startup company located in Houston, TX. Solugen is scaling up its manufacturing process on 5 acres of manufacturing space with a 65,000 square foot facility containing 20,000 square feet of customized office and lab space. Solugen currently has 80+ full time employees.

MISSION

Solugen's mission is to decarbonize chemicals manufacturing. As a first step, Solugen is building its first 10,000 tons per year commercial plant with potential to offset 37,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalents. This role will directly support Solugen's mission by continuously improving our ability to scale enzyme production to support our core platform. The individual will report to the Head of Strain Engineering and assist with experiments and analysis to support the Solugen's future R&D, production, and revenue goals. This role will be involved with genetically engineering Solugen's enzyme production hosts to maximize their performance. As the production strains continuously improve, the quality of Solugen's products and our cost to manufacture improve. This is a hands-on role where the individual's initiative, laboratory prowess, and energy will make a substantial impact on the company.

KEY OUTCOMES

• • Design and execution of experiments for successful strain improvement strategies and screening.
• • Independently perform genetic manipulations of bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi.
• • Independently perform experiments to record and analyze key performance indicators of production strains.
• • Comprehensive data analysis and visualization and delivering results on a timely manner.

KEY COMPETENCIES

JOB SPECIFIC:

• Bachelor's or master's degree in Biology, or related field with a focus on genetic engineering of eukaryotic microorganisms or heterologous protein expression.  
• Minimum 1 year of research industry experience.
• Excellent knowledge of molecular biology techniques (DNA-, RNA-, protein-extractions, PCR, cloning, SDS-PAGE, Western blotting).
• Impeccable sterile technique, and passion to handle a variety of pro- and eukaryotic microorganisms.
• Familiarity with relevant software to support biological laboratory work (Microsoft Office, Geneious Prime).
• Must be able to prioritize and self-organize with a mindset to succeed.
• Good communicator with excellent verbal and writing skills.

COMPANY SPECIFIC:

• Ask a lot of questions, be curious, and have insights into your work.
• Be nimble, embrace the speed and ambiguity of startup culture.
• A passion for green chemistry and fighting climate change.
• Ability to self-manage and set your own priorities and schedule.
• Be comfortable working in multiple roles.
• Emphasize safety above all else.
• Respect for others.
• Creative problem solving.
• Eagerness to learn and research new science concepts.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor's or master's degree in Biology, or related field with a focus on genetic engineering of eukaryotic microorganisms or heterologous protein expression.

Minimum 1  year of research industry experience. 

Solugen is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other legally protected status.