Senior Research Scientist

Location: San Diego, California
Position Type: Full-Time
Salary Range: $130,000 to $155,000
Area(s) of Expertise Desired: Genome Editing, Plant Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry
Job Code: TD2310

Description:

Cibus is a biotechnology company with advanced technologies to precisely target and direct a plant’s natural gene-editing processes. This approach accelerates natural plant breeding that has been a staple of farming for thousands of years and has resulted in a rapid, versatile and low-cost way to produce sustainable industrial and agricultural products and improve human health by safely harnessing nature's own genetic diversity.

The company has a worldwide presence, with subsidiaries in Europe and North America and a state-of-the-art research and development center in San Diego. Cibus has a pipeline of traits for canola and rice and is developing crop platforms and a pipeline of trait products in other major global crops including soybean, corn, and wheat. The broad applicability of Cibus’ technologies is highlighted by the company’s strain-advancement program, which develops sustainable products in microbial platforms for the food, flavor and fragrance, and personal care markets.

Cibus has an immediate opening for a Senior Research Scientist to help us to revolutionize plant breeding.

Requirements:

The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. or M.S. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or a related discipline with 5+ years of industry experience. The candidate would have a solid understanding of gene-editing techniques, protein-nucleic acid biochemistry and protein engineering as well as strong organizational skills. The candidate is expected to work independently with minimal supervision.

Role Responsibilities:

• Identify and characterize novel gene editing tools through data mining and biochemical assays
• Develop and implement assays to detect and evaluate various biochemical activities
• Design and prepare recombinant proteins, RNA and DNA gene-editing reagents
• Assist in the development, refinement, and optimization of gene-editing tools to advance Cibus’ core technologies.
• Manage resource and supervise personnel as needed for projects and experiments.
• Create and manage SOPs for all relevant workflows and/or methodologies.
• Recognize and identify IP values from research ideas and activities.
• Utilize a broad suite of general, theoretical, and practical molecular biology techniques to complete assigned tasks.
• Communicate research findings through written reports and oral presentations.
• Demonstrate the ability to be independent, self-motivated, and enjoy working in a highly collaborative setting.

Knowledge, experience, skills:

• Strong expertise in purifying and assaying recombinant proteins that interact with nucleic acids
• Experience with both enzymatic assays for catalysis and substrate binding
• Familiarity with ÄKTA protein purification systems
• Experience developing and executing NGS assays
• Familiarity withgene-editing and / or DNA repair literature
• Computer and scripting skills (Geneious, CLC Genomics Workbench, SQL, R, python)
• Prior industry experience in agriculture or plant biology is a plus
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills, accurate record keeping, and attention to detail.

Cibus provides an attractive compensation and benefits package that includes medical/dental/vision, flexible spending, 401(k) plan, vacation and sick leave. If you enjoy working as part of a team and want to participate in this exciting research, please e-mail your resume to and put down job code: TD2310.

ONLY CANDIDATES WITH WORK AUTHORIZATION IN THE U.S. ARE CONSIDERED AT THIS TIME.