Scientist - Plant Genome Editing

Soilcea; Barcelona; Sur place; EUR 90 000 - 130 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Competitive salary

Permanent contract

International team

Path to lead the European operation

Résumé du poste

Soilcea seeks a founding scientist in Europe to build and lead a European lab from the ground up. You will set the scientific agenda, stay hands-on at the bench, and collaborate with the US team to bring gene-edited plants to growers.

You will work with Agromillora and European partners, recruit and mentor staff, and drive grant applications. Fluency in Spanish is expected; this is a high-impact, lab‑driven role with long-term growth.

Qualifications

• PhD in plant molecular biology, biotechnology, genetics or related field.
• Typically 4+ years of post-PhD experience (postdoc or industry).
• Hands-on plant genome editing (CRISPR/Cas, RNP, transfection, transformation).
• Molecular cloning and vector construction: Golden Gate/modular assembly, sgRNA/Cas expression cassettes.
• Assay development: PCR, qPCR or ddPCR, amplicon sequencing for edit validation.
• Strong experimental design, data analysis and documentation.
• Experience with gene editing of woody/perennial crops (olive, citrus, Prunus), protoplasts or somatic embryogenesis.
• Record of winning or working on EU or national grants.
• Bioinformatics scripting (Python, R, bash).
• WGS, variant/edit calling, and working with heterozygous genomes.
• Startup experience.
• Working proficiency in Spanish.

Responsabilités

• Set up the lab, select site, establish SOPs and budgets; manage consumables and safety practices.
• Run CRISPR experiments and validate edits, including delivery methods and regeneration.
• Transfer and adapt protocols for olive and other crops; support tissue culture and regeneration.
• Build and supervise the team; review records and deliver progress reports.
• Lead science and partnerships with Agromillora and academic partners; pursue Horizon Europe grants.

Connaissances

Lab leadership

Budget management

Team supervision

Experimental design

Data analysis

Bioinformatics scripting

Formation

PhD in plant molecular biology

Outils

Python

R

bash

Description du poste

Soilcea S.L.U. | Spain - Barcelona area, Madrid, Valencia or Seville (lab site to be confirmed) | Full-time

About us

Soil Culture Solutions, LLC (d/b/a Soilcea) develops CRISPR-edited crops that resist devastating plant diseases. In Florida, Huanglongbing (citrus greening), together with canker and hurricanes, has cut citrus production by around 90% since the early 2000s and caused billions in losses. Soilcea, headquartered in Tampa, holds exclusive licenses to foundational CRISPR technologies in citrus from the University of Florida, built on more than a decade of research at UF/IFAS. In 2026 we took that science all the way to market. CarriCea T1, a Carrizo rootstock carrying three edits for resistance to citrus greening, became the first CRISPR-edited citrus rootstock registered by the US EPA (April 2026) and was cleared by the USDA in June. Florida growers have since ordered more than 300,000 CarriCea T1 trees, and they are going into the ground ahead of the 2026-27 season. Very few companies anywhere have taken a gene-edited tree crop from the bench, through regulators and into commercial orchards. Soilcea has done it.

Now we are bringing that success to Europe. Through our new Spanish subsidiary, Soilcea S.L.U., we are applying the same approach to olive and other Mediterranean crops threatened by disease and climate stress, from Xylella fastidiosa to drought and heat. The timing could not be better: the EU's new rules for new genomic techniques (NGTs) open a realistic route to market for precision-edited crops, and Spain is the world's largest olive producer.

Our olive programme is being developed with Agromillora, the Spanish nursery group and one of the world's leading suppliers of olive and fruit-tree plants, which brings the propagation capacity and grower reach to take edited trees from the lab to the orchard. We also work with leading universities and research institutes in Spain and across Europe, including the Universidad de Málaga, Universitat de Girona, Università della Tuscia (Italy), ELGO-DIMITRA (Greece), Umeå University and Luleå University of Technology (Sweden), and Coburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany). Together these partners cover gene discovery, AI-guided target selection, delivery, regeneration and controlled-environment validation, so you will be plugged into a strong European network from day one.

Where you will work.

We are now choosing the site for our first European laboratory and are evaluating locations in the Barcelona area, Madrid, Valencia and Seville, all close to strong plant-science institutes. Join us now and you will help shape the lab from the start: the space, the equipment, the workflows and the team.

The role.

You will be our founding scientist in Europe. You will help build and lead the lab from the ground up, set its scientific agenda with management, and stay hands-on at the bench. You will work closely with our US team, which has already taken a gene-edited tree crop through regulation and into commercial production. If you want to see your science leave the lab and reach growers, this is the place to do it.

What you'll do

• Set up the lab. Help select and fit out our lab site, build laboratory workflows, prioritise equipment purchases, and manage consumables and budgets. Establish SOPs, safety practices and sample tracking.
• Run CRISPR experiments. Design and perform them, including guide selection, reagent preparation, optimisation of delivery methods (RNP/protoplast transfection, Agrobacterium transformation), regeneration, plant recovery and edit validation.
• Transfer and adapt protocols. Take protocols from our US team and adapt them to olive and other crops and cultivars. Support tissue culture and plant regeneration, and troubleshoot recovery of edited material with specialist partners.
• Build the team. Help recruit, train and supervise junior scientists and technicians, review experimental records, and deliver clear progress reports.
• Lead science and partnerships. Set scientific direction with management, work with Agromillora and our academic partners across Europe, and drive grant applications (Horizon Europe, national and regional programmes).

Must-haves

• PhD in plant molecular biology, biotechnology, genetics or a related field.
• Typically 4+ years of post-PhD experience (postdoc or industry), including hands‑on plant genome editing (CRISPR/Cas, RNP, transfection, transformation).
• Molecular cloning and vector construction: Golden Gate/modular assembly, binary vectors, sgRNA/Cas expression cassettes.
• Assay development: PCR, qPCR or ddPCR, guide and primer design, amplicon sequencing for edit validation.
• Strong experimental design, data analysis and documentation.
• A track record of running projects or a lab independently, including budgets, procurement and supervising people.
• Experience with gene editing of woody or perennial crops (olive, citrus, Prunus), protoplasts or somatic embryogenesis.
• A record of winning or working on EU or national grants.
• Bioinformatics scripting (Python, R, bash, workflow managers).
• WGS, variant/edit calling, and working with heterozygous genomes.
• Startup experience.
• Working proficiency in Spanish.

What we offer

• A competitive salary on a permanent contract.
• The rare chance to build a lab from scratch and help bring the first gene‑edited olive trees to European growers.
• An international team spanning Florida and Spain, backed by a partner network of leading European research institutes.
• A path to grow and lead the European operation.

Soilcea is an equal-opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates.