Scientist III, Strain Development - Decatur, IL

Illinois Ag; Decatur (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) in Decatur, IL is seeking an experienced Scientist III to lead strain development efforts for a high-impact project within the BioSolutions division.

The role focuses on designing, building, and testing metabolically reprogrammed yeast strains using genome editing, phenotypic screening, and high-throughput platforms, with close collaboration across metabolic engineering, automation, genomics, and fermentation teams.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology or related field (or MSc with 5+ years industry experience).
• Experience with yeast and/or microbial genetics, cell biology and physiology.
• Experience with 96-well plate cloning and/or biochemical assays.
• Ability to analyze genetic, molecular biology and biochemistry data.
• Familiarity with Python or R for data analysis.
• Knowledge of bio-based production and fermentation KPIs.
• Ability to generate, organize, analyze and interpret large datasets.
• Demonstrated success working within inter-disciplinary team.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and build yeast strains containing heterologous metabolic pathways and/or loss-of-function mutations.
• Deploy 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.

Skills

Genome editing

Molecular biology

Biochemical assays

Bioinformatics

Python/R

Fermentation

Data analysis

Team collaboration

Communication skills

NGS data interpretation

Education

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

M.Sc. with 5+ years industry experience

Tools

Benchling ELN/LIMS

Job description

### Job Details#### Job Title:Scientist III, Strain Development - Decatur, IL#### Location:,, ,#### Company:#### Industry Sector:#### Industry Type:#### Career Type:#### Job Type:Full Time#### Minimum Years Experience Required:N/A#### Salary:### Get Job Alerts**Career Type:****Country:** USAI agree to receive alerts from and to the .Your alert was created successfully.x## General Alert Saved* The listings below are jobs matching the criteria you've selected for your General Alert on.Criteria selected was:* General alert saved for .* General alert notifications will be sent weekly on Monday.* Please note that you can only have one general alert active at any given time. Creating a new general alert will override an existing general alert.* Visit the to manage your alerts# Scientist III, Strain Development - Decatur, IL| Number of Years Experience: | Minimum Education Completed: | || Education Major / Discipline Category: | Most Recent / Current Occupation: | |**Job Description****Scientist III, Strain Development - Decatur, IL****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:**These skills and experiences will be required or useful for the candidate:* 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.ADM requires the successful completion of a background check.REF:111741BR**#IncludingYou**Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are cornerstones of ADM's efforts to continue innovating, driving growth, and delivering outstanding performance. We are committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce and create welcoming, truly inclusive work environments - environments that enable every ADM colleague to feel comfortable on the job, make meaningful contributions to our success, and grow their career. We respect and value the unique backgrounds and experiences that each person can bring to ADM because we know that diversity of perspectives makes us better, together.We welcome everyone to apply. We are committed to ensuring all qualified applicants receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, disability, religion, national origin, language, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, sexual orientation, age, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by lawTo apply please click on APPLY TO THIS POSITIONJob Post Date: 08/06/26Here are some other jobs you may be interested in applying for.| | || - | - || Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) Decatur, Illinois | Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) Decatur, Illinois || Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) Decatur, Illinois | |2 people are interested in this job.