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Salary: USD 95,000 - 120,000 / annual
Alta Resource Technologies is a next-generation mining company founded in 2023 that uses synthetic biology to separate critical minerals from conventional, unconventional, and e-waste resources. The company is addressing a historic opportunity in mineral supply chain diversification and sustainability as demand from tech and IT sectors accelerates.
You will join the Applied Biology team as a Scientist I/II in Strain Engineering, reporting to the Sr. Director of Applied Biology. This is a full-time, on-site role in Boulder, CO that may occasionally require off-hours work.
In this role, you will apply genetic engineering, molecular biology, and metabolic modeling to improve expression of target proteins from a Bacillus host. You will be a key contributor to both high-throughput screening and scale-up fermentation efforts, interfacing across teams for continuous improvement.
Key responsibilities include:
- Engineer Bacillus host strains and expression architectures using genetic manipulation and molecular biology techniques
- Leverage metabolic engineering and molecular assays to optimize protein expression in fermentation conditions and improve protein secretion
- Develop and execute high-throughput screening assays to improve production hosts and architectures
- Collaborate with data scientists, protein engineers, and the bioproduction team to achieve rapid scale-up of candidates from plate-based screening
- Ensure excellent documentation practices for all protocols and experiments
- Communicate results effectively with stakeholders across the company
You will work within a multidisciplinary team of collaborative scientists with diverse skill sets. Success requires strong communication, critical thinking, and a rigorous scientific approach. You should be comfortable with agile workflows and capable of executing multi-scale approaches to identify lead strains and develop robust protocols for internal and external transfer.
REQUIREMENTS:
- PhD in Synthetic Biology, Metabolic Engineering, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, or related field with 1-3+ years additional field-specific experience
- Expertise in Bacillus biology and genetics
- Expertise in molecular biology and genome engineering including cloning, DNA parts (promoters, RBSs, secretion tags), and integration
- Experience utilizing metabolic engineering and profiling to optimize microbial hosts
- Experience with automated workflow development
- Experience with bioinformatics tools and sample management software
- Demonstrated knowledge of experimental design, scientific method, and statistical analysis
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to work within different teams
- Strong organizational and documentation skills
- U.S. citizenship required
PREFERRED:
- Experience with principles of protein production and secretion in Bacillus
- Proficiency in working with data science teams for scripting pipelines and bioinformatics
