Senior Research Associate, Protein Analytical Chemist

About us At Shiru we believe that food should be delicious and nourishing without negatively affecting our planet. Acknowledging our growing global population as well as the imminent effects of climate change, Shiru’s mission is to create better protein ingredients that will catapult us into a sustainable food future. 
With our mission in mind, Shiru makes high quality, functional food proteins through better leveraging our precious environmental resources. To do this, we employ technologies originally  created to solve problems in adjacent industries, including computational biology, machine learning, and industrial fermentation and bioprocessing.
We apply computational intelligence to find the most functional natural food proteins in the world, harnessing the inherent ability of microflora to produce them. We then partner with food and beverage companies to incorporate these unique protein ingredients into everyday products. Shiru is now expanding our team of dedicated professionals across multiple disciplines to make enhanced protein ingredients for a better world.
About the Role At Shiru, we discover protein ingredients through a multitude of protein characterization methods to assess functionality in foods.  We are looking for an enthusiastic and detail-oriented Senior Research Associate to develop, implement and operate analytical methods to characterize the physico-chemical properties from a diverse range of proteins produced in our discovery platform. This will involve developing or improving SOPs related to protein quantification and characterization, including chromatographic separation methods and plate-based assay formats. In this role, you will contribute to projects throughout our innovation pipeline, from early stage research through development and scale-up, implementing robust methods that can be used to characterize both proteins and processes. As an early stage start-up, Shiru relies on cross-functional collaboration to learn, grow, and innovate.
About YouYou are a biological or chemical researcher with a passion for innovation for the betterment of the planet.  A successful candidate for this role will have the ability to work independently and troubleshoot resourcefully. You find yourself “in the flow” when you are working at the bench to execute on experiments, and you enthusiastically share your data and developments. You are excited to work in a highly cross-functional and collaborative environment, to tackle new challenges, and help develop processes that lead to great results at the bench and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Develop and operate methods to quantitate and characterize a diverse range proteins expressed in both microtiter plates and bench-scale fermentation
• Write new and improve existing SOPs related to methods developed for protein characterization
• Source and purchase equipment necessary for implementing new techniques and capabilities
• Carefully capture, analyze, and interpret structured data to assess protein properties
• Generate reports summarizing experiment results and communicate key findings to major stakeholders

Requirements

• BS or MS in chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or a related field, and 2+ years industrial experience
• Solid foundation in fundamental biological, physical and chemical principles; familiarity with protein biochemistry required and microbial physiology a plus
• Previous hands-on experience with a variety of protein characterization techniques, including one or more of the following: SDS-PAGE, light-scattering, liquid chromatography, mass spectroscopy, or capillary electrophoresis 
• Quantitative analytical assay development experience, including one or more of the following:  ELISA, chromatography, standard assay kits, fluorescence-based spectroscopy 
• Experience consulting and summarizing technical literature (academic papers, operating manuals, etc.), programming skills (e.g. Python), and interaction with laboratory information management systems (LIMS) are highly desirable
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

At Shiru, we're looking for people with passion, grit, and integrity. You're encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't precisely match the job description. We’re expecting your skills and passion to stand out—and set you apart—especially if your career has taken some extraordinary twists and turns. Please join us in this singular opportunity to create the future of food!  
Shiru is an equal opportunity employer who values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Shiru offers competitive compensation and employee benefits along with an attractive equity package commensurate with candidate qualifications.