Scientist III, Strain Development - Decatur, IL

ADM; Decatur (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

ADM Cell Engineering is seeking an experienced synthetic biologist to design, build and test yeast strains for a high-impact project supporting ADM BioSolutions sustainable materials. You will combine genome editing, molecular biology and phenotypic screens to develop strains with improved fermentation performance.

The role requires Ph.D. or MSc with industry experience, strong collaboration across teams, and proficiency in data analysis and bioinformatics.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or MSc with relevant experience in yeast/microbial genetics, cell biology or physiology.
• Experience with 96-well plate methods for cloning or biochemical assays.
• Ability to interpret genetic, molecular biology and biochemistry data.
• Familiarity with Python or R for bioinformatics data analysis.
• Knowledge of bio-based production and fermentation KPIs.
• Ability to generate, organize and interpret large datasets.

Responsibilities

• Design and build yeast strains containing heterologous pathways or loss-of-function mutations.
• Apply genome editing technologies to efficiently create new strains.
• Analyze data to link genotype to phenotype and report findings.
• Optimize strain engineering methods to accelerate DBTL cycles.
• Interpret NGS data (DNA-seq, RNA-seq).
• Collaborate with automation scientists to transfer bench work to high-throughput platforms.
• Maintain detailed notes in Benchling ELN/LIMS for data sharing.
• Contribute to a team-oriented, safe work environment.

Skills

Yeast genetics

Bioinformatics

Data analysis

Team collaboration

Communication skills

High-throughput screening

Molecular cloning

Genome editing

Education

Ph.D. in molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology (or related field)

M.Sc. degree with 5+ years industry experience

Tools

Benchling ELN/LIMS

Job description

Position Summary

ADM Cell Engineering is recruiting an experienced synthetic biologist to join our strain development team. This scientist will design, build and test yeast strains for a high impact project that supports the ADM BioSolutions sustainable materials strategy. The successful candidate will play a key role in advancing ADM’s low-pH platform yeast by combining genome editing, molecular biology, and phenotypic screens to build and test metabolically reprogrammed yeast strains for improved fermentation performance. This scientist will collaborate with project leaders and subject matter experts in metabolic engineering, automation & high-throughput screening, genomics and fermentation. This is an important role within ADM’s Biotechnology Group and scientists with industry experience or experience genetically engineering industrial yeast are encouraged to apply.

Job Responsibilities

• Design and build yeast strains containing heterologous metabolic pathways and/or loss-of-function mutations.
• Deploy state-of-the-art genome editing technologies to efficiently build new yeast strains.
• Design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and report findings on strain performance to link genotype to phenotype.
• Further optimize strain engineering methods to accelerate Design-Build-Test-Learn cycles.
• Analyze and interpret NGS genomic sequencing results (e.g., DNA-seq, RNA-seq).
• Collaborate with automation scientists to transfer manual bench-scale experiments to high-throughput robotic platforms.
• Maintain detailed notes in Benchling ELN/LIMS to enable data sharing and collaboration across project teams.
• Contribute to a team-oriented, positive and safe work environment.

Job Requirements

• Ph.D. in molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology (or related field) or M.Sc. degree with 5+ years industry experience.
• An understanding of yeast and/or microbial molecular genetics, cell biology and physiology.
• A track record of using 96 well plate methods for molecular cloning and/or biochemical assays.
• Experience interpreting genetic, molecular biology and biochemistry data.
• Ability to use bioinformatics and sequence analysis tools (familiarity with Python or R is desirable).
• Working knowledge of bio-based production and fermentation key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Ability to generate, organize, analyze and interpret large datasets.
• Demonstrated success working within inter-disciplinary team.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with both technical and non-technical personnel.

Excited about this role but don’t think you meet every requirement listed? We encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings.

ADM requires the successful completion of a background check.

REF:111741BR