Research Assistant Norwich, England
Job description
Job description: Research Assistant
Colorifix has pioneered the world’s first entirely biological process to produce, deposit and fix pigments onto textiles using synthetic biology tools. Our process has been successfully applied at commercial scale in the textile industry. Our team is looking for new talents to help us continue develop and deploy our technology and make sustainable dyeing the new norm in the industry.
We are looking to hire a Research Assistant to support the development of genetic tools and the development of pigment-expressing strains within the Microbial Engineering Division at Colorifix.
Genetic tools provide control over expression and complexity to our pigment and precursor designers, with resulting benefits with respect to pigment variety, product titer and fermentation reproducibility. Core roles and responsibilities will include construction, validation and characterisation of new genetic circuit components and devices, as well as their integration into our strain development services, aiming at the development of pigment-producing bacterial and yeast strains. There will be a heavy focus on assay and protocol development to characterise these tools and strains. The role will be dynamic, as tool development is rapidly evolving, and there will be plenty of opportunities to learn and contribute to the main team effort to enhance our strain development platform.
The candidate will require an excellent grounding in molecular cloning techniques in both bacterial and yeast systems. They will also require good familiarity with microbiological culturing techniques. The candidate will be expected to carry out tasks independently once training has been given, for which there will be plenty of on-the-job learning. They will work closely with both the tool development team and the strain engineering team within the Microbial Engineering Division.
Essential skills and experience:
-MSc/MRes or equivalent experience in industry in a molecular biology,
biotechnology or biological science discipline
-A good understanding of the basics of gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
-Experience with a range of molecular biology techniques (PCR, agarose gel
electrophoresis, a variety of DNA assembly techniques, transformation and DNA
extraction, purification and quantitation)
-Experience with microbiology techniques (e.g. aseptic technique, bacterial and yeast
culture growth in various formats)
-Experience in troubleshooting and problem-solving
-Good communicator and flexible team player, with experience working in multi-
disciplinary teams
-Good organisational skills and high attention to detail
-Able to follow standard operating procedures and continuously improve operations in
the laboratory
-2 years’ experience in a lab-based role
Desirable skills and experience:
-A degree, or relevant experience, in synthetic biology
-Experience working in industry
-Experience with assay development
-Experience with long-read sequencing technologies
-Familiarity with genome engineering, bacterial conjugation or vector construction
-Familiarity with bioinformatics
Please provide both a CV and a cover letter. Note that any incomplete application will not be considered.
Title: Research Assistant
Reports to: Head of Microbial Engineering Division
Location: Norwich
Remuneration: £27,000k - 30,000k
Deadline: 30.06.2023
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £27,000.00-£30,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Bereavement leave
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Enhanced paternity leave
- Financial planning services
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 30/06/2023
