Senior Molecular Biologist - Strain Engineering

Breakout Ventures; Alameda (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Checkerspot Biosciences seeks a Senior Research Associate or Scientist to join the Molecular Biology group. You will design and optimize microbial strain metabolism, apply genetic tools, and work across Strain Improvement, Bioinformatics, Fermentation Development and Analytical teams.

Required are advanced molecular biology skills and hands-on experience with strain engineering; strong data analysis, communication, and safety culture are essential.

Qualifications

• Degree requirements reflect level; PhD or equivalent experience considered for senior roles.
• Hands-on experience with PCR, qRT-PCR, cloning, library screening, and purification.
• Experience characterizing and engineering microbial or mammalian cells for production.
• Ability to design experiments, troubleshoot, and progress with increasing independence.

Responsibilities

• Design, execute, and troubleshoot molecular biology experiments to modify metabolism and improve strain phenotypes.
• Use bioinformatics and DNA sequence analysis to support construct design and validate engineered strains.
• Analyze results with statistics, document in Benchling, and present findings to collaborators.
• Develop and refine genetic tools, identify bottlenecks, and implement new techniques from literature.
• Collaborate with Strain Improvement, Bioinformatics, Fermentation Development and Analytical teams.
• Utilize automated liquid handling robots for high-throughput tasks.

Skills

Molecular biology techniques

Experimental design and troubleshoot

Data analysis and statistics

Education

Bachelor's degree or Master’s with 3–6 years OR PhD in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Genetics

Tools

Benchling

Automated liquid handling robots

DNA/RNA purification workflows

Job description

Checkerspot Biosciences seeks a Senior Research Associate or Scientist to join the Molecular Biology group. You will design and optimize microbial strain metabolism, apply genetic tools, and work across Strain Improvement, Bioinformatics, Fermentation Development and Analytical teams.

Required are advanced molecular biology skills and hands-on experience with strain engineering; strong data analysis, communication, and safety culture are essential.