Senior Analytical Chemist I, Metabolomics
Ginkgo Bioworks
West Sacramento, CA, USA
Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2023
Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms.
We are seeking a metabolomics scientist who will be a key contributor in the area of Natural Product Chemistry in the Chemistry group and provide expertise in the area of Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry based structure elucidation. This position focuses on acquiring and analyzing metabolomics data from microbial samples, including developing novel methods and workflows and assisting in the development of computational pipelines for data analysis. #LI-LS1
Responsibilities
- Design and implement sample preparation protocols for the analysis of microbial and/or plant metabolomes
- Design and implement LC-MS/MS based assays, both targeted and untargeted, for analyzing metabolite profiles of microbes and/or plants.
- Support the implementation of software to streamline data processing, data mining, biomarker identification and development of prediction models.
- Plan and perform experiments involving the setup and operation of advanced high-resolution mass spectrometers. Interpret and perform basic analyses of results.
- Design mass spectrometry methods and workflows for rapid detection of primary and secondary metabolites, including pathway analysis.
- Develop, improve, and deploy informatics pipelines to analyze and compare mass spectrometry-based metabolomics data.
- Works independently and has primary or shared project responsibility
- Works within the Chemistry department as part of a team of Analytical and Natural Product Chemists to provide technical direction and leadership in metabolomics
- Works closely with scientists from multiple disciplines (particularly computational scientists) within Biologics
- Interprets data and uses it to influence experiments in collaborative project teams
- Evaluates potential risks and benefits of different approaches and advises projects to use Metabolomics resources most effectively and efficiently
Minimum Requirements
- Ph.D. in Natural Product Chemistry, Metabolomics, Mass Spectrometry or a related chemistry discipline and a minimum 2 years of relevant work experience OR M.S in Natural Product Chemistry, Metabolomics, Mass Spectrometry or a related chemistry discipline with at least 4 years of relevant work experience
- Experience with operating mass spectrometers and related instrumentation
- Familiarity with untargeted metabolomics workflows and MS-based structure elucidation of secondary metabolites
- Experience with quantitative data analysis (e.g. linear regression)
- Experience with modern data acquisition and analysis software
- The ability to maintain, develop, evaluate and implement new laboratory techniques is critical.
- A desire to work hands-on in a laboratory
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented working environment.
- Ability to solve complex problems and generate new ideas
- Creative and flexible thinking
- Strong communication skills to present scientific results clearly and concisely
- Proficient in data recording, analysis, interpretation, and management
- Strong collaboration skills to drive complex analyses integrating metabolomics data with bioassay results
Preferred Capabilities and Experience
- Experience with soil-based primary and secondary metabolomics
- Experience with ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs)
- Experience with Thermo Orbitrap instrumentation and Compound Discoverer software
- Experience with programming languages and platforms commonly used in Bioinformatics (e.g Python, R, Matlab)
- A strong working knowledge of statistics
Total compensation for this role is market driven, with a starting salary of $100,000 +, as well as company stock awards. Base pay is ultimately determined based on a candidate's skills, expertise, and experience. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental & vision coverage, health spending accounts, voluntary benefits, leave of absence policies, Employee Assistance Program, 401(k) program with employer contribution, 8 paid holidays in addition to a full-week winter shutdown and unlimited Paid Time Off policy.
To learn more about Ginkgo, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com/press/ or check out some curated press below:
We also feel that it’s important to point out the obvious here – there’s a serious lack of diversity in our industry, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. Ginkgo is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our culture promotes inclusion and embraces how rewarding it is to work with people from all walks of life.
We’re developing a powerful biological engineering platform, so we must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can – and will – impact people around the world. We care about how our platform is used, and having a diverse team to build it gives us the best chance that it’s something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. Therefore, it’s critical that we incorporate the diverse voices and visions of all those who play a role in the future of biology.
It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants.
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