Project Manager

Joyn Bio is an ag-biotech company developing more sustainable ways to feed the world. Started by agriculture and synthetic biology leaders Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks, Joyn Bio is engineering beneficial microbes found in the environment to improve naturally occurring processes like nitrogen fixation. With exclusive access to Ginkgo Bioworks’ automated foundries for biological engineering and Bayer’s crop science expertise, Joyn Bio is delivering the scale and power of synthetic biology to agriculture. Joyn Bio brings together scientists with diverse backgrounds at its two sites in Boston, Massachusetts and Woodland, California to develop new microbial solutions that address growers’ biggest challenges. For more information please visit www.joynbio.com.

Objective

• The Project Manager will work closely with the Program Director to facilitate the advancement of synthetic biology solutions to address unmet needs in agriculture, including the development of a biofertility product. The ideal candidate will have the project management skills and technical background to extract and manage a pipeline of activities related to microbial engineering, bioprocess and formulation development and in-planta testing.

Responsibilities

• Create & maintain program level Smartsheet plans from assay development to engineering and in-planta testing.
• Support coordination of critical upstream and downstream activities for smooth operational handoffs, change management, communication of blockers and help needed. 
• Develop Design-Build-Test resourcing views to inform prioritization of activities or hiring plans, where constraints are identified. 
• Attend all program meetings (5 to 6 concurrent programs) in which science, strategies and activities are discussed, in order to effectively support project updates.
• Host and manage project level reporting meetings for key stakeholders. 
• Synthesize priorities from Program Directors and effectively communicate to project teams to drive clear alignment of goal and activities to reach those goals. 
• Standardize project management tools and methods across all projects to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of planning, managing and reporting.

Training/Experience

• A M.S. or PhD in scientific discipline in microbiology, biochemistry or bioengineering.
• Minimum of 3 years experience in biotech project management.
• Experience with Schedule maintenance & reporting using PM software (Microsoft Project, Smartsheets, Wrike, JIRA/Confluence, Asana, or Trello)
• Experience in Resource management in a matrixed organization 
• Strong desire to deeply understand strain engineering processes and Joyn’s product development pipeline for improved planning
• Exceptional communication skills
• A strong desire to contribute to building a culture of planning, transparency of efforts and tracking accountability.

Organizational

• This position will report directly to the Head of Program Management with close coordination expected with Program Directors and Department Heads.
• The position is based at Joyn’s Boston, MA site, requiring up to 15% travel.