Metabolic Engineering Research Associate I

Elevate the Future with Lesaffre

For over 170 years, Lesaffre has been a pioneering force in the world of fermentation, harnessing the power of microorganisms to transform industries from baking to healthcare. As a key global player, we've built a presence in 96 countries, employing 11,000 passionate innovators who share our unwavering commitment to excellence.

Driven by our core values of passion, respect, trust, entrepreneurship, and humility, we're constantly pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Our 3-billion euro enterprise collaborates with visionary customers, partners, and researchers to develop essential nutrients and bioactives that strengthen human health, optimize animal well-being, and improve plant nutrition.

Discover Recombia!

Recombia Biosciences is a dynamic and innovative company that specializes in developing and commercializing cutting-edge microbial solutions. As part of the Lesaffre Group since 2022, Recombia leverages extensive expertise in fermentation and microbiology to apply advanced biotechnology, such as metabolic and genome engineering and synthetic biology, in creating customized microbial strains with enhanced functionalities using precision fermentation. Recombia's mission is to blend biology, engineering, automation, and informatics to improve organism engineering, screening, selection, and scale-up for a wide portfolio of precision fermentation and biomass production applications, serving diverse industries including baking, brewing, bioethanol, flavors, food, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.

What We Offer  

• The opportunity to represent a passionate organization focused on innovation and sustainability 


• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits starting on day one, including health, dental, vision, and 401(k) with employer match


• 11 paid holidays


• The ability to leverage your expertise and make a tangible, meaningful impact on the business and our sustainability initiatives


• Opportunities for continuous growth and development, including the ability to take on new challenges and collaborate across our international business units

Pay Range: $62,000 - $75,000 annually commensurate with qualifications and experience

How You'll Contribute to Our Success

As a Research Associate I, you’ll drive innovation by designing and implementing genetic modifications using high-throughput methodologies and robust assays to characterize engineered strains of industrial yeast. Your expertise in molecular biology, genome editing, microbial strain engineering, high-throughput screening, and lab automation will be critical in advancing our strain development efforts. You’ll maintain a safe, organized lab environment while collaborating with cross-functional teams to execute strategic experiments and ensure meticulous record-keeping. The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience in yeast strain engineering, data analysis, and lab automation, paired with strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills to thrive in a dynamic, team-driven setting.

What You’ll Do as a Research Associate I

•  Demonstrate an unwavering commitment to Lesaffre's safety-first culture by strictly following all safety protocols and participating in required safety programs


•  Design and introduce genetic modifications to industrial yeast strains using high-throughput methodologies


•  Implement or coordinate robust phenotypic assays or other type of assays to characterize the resulting genetically engineered strains


•  Interact frequently with leadership and collaborate with other research associates and scientists


•  Leverage your strong background in molecular biology, microbial strain engineering, and high-throughput screening


•  Apply your specialized expertise in statistics and data analysis to support research initiatives


•  Work closely with cross-functional teams to drive the development of innovative microbial solutions


•  Other duties as assigned

Required qualifications:  

•  Bachelor's degree in Genetics, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Bioengineering, Chemical engineering, or a related field


•  One or more years of industry experience (especially in the areas of genome or metabolic engineering and industrial fermentation)


•  One or more years of experience with genome editing of saccharomyces cerevisiae


•  Experience in engineering yeast for the production of small molecules


•  Direct experience in molecular biology (e.g. PCR, DNA purification, cloning, genome editing, DNA assembly, DNA sequencing) of yeast and bacteria


•  Demonstrated skills to generate new hypotheses using existing data or scientific literature

Lesaffre provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.