Algal Research Scientist (Iceland)

Running Tide is an ocean technology company built to tackle humanity's most urgent challenge: climate change. We build cutting-edge solutions that integrate engineered and biological systems to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, restore ecosystems, and secure food systems. Our multidisciplinary team of world-class scientists, engineers, and maritime operators is working as fast as possible while the world is burning.
Our Agronomy team is developing technology for scalable production, deployment, and offshore growth of modular macroalgal cultivation systems as a central part of Running Tide’s carbon sequestration platform. We’re looking for a Research Scientist/Engineer to help establish, maintain, and further develop novel macroalgal cultivars amenable to these systems in our newly renovated containerized hatchery facility based in Akranes, Iceland. This role will primarily focus on developing carbon-dense, high-productivity stock cultures of macroalgae within the Agronomy program, but will also involve cross collaboration with other teams including Genetics, Field Operations, and Engineering working toward our overall carbon sequestration goals.

You Will:

• Conduct original research and experiments to inform future culture development operations
• Establish and maintain stock cultures of various macroalgae species;
• Develop new cultivars with desirable traits from established stock cultures using interdisciplinary techniques drawing from fields such as phycology, biochemistry, bioprocess engineering, and genetics
• Develop and implement methods to monitor and assess algal growth and development
• Characterize effects of various chemical, biological, and physical parameters/inputs on algal growth, development, and carbon uptake
• Apply lessons learned in engineered cultivation systems to achieved targeted outcomes such as new cultivars, increased biomass productivity, and bioproduct formation
• Optimize propagation techniques, cultivation systems, and process conditions to intensify macroalgal growth and carbon content
• Develop methods to preserve macroalgal cell lines via cryopreservation and low-maintenance growth methods
• Work with other teams/focus areas within the Agronomy program to develop scalable methods of algal seedstock production and inoculation on modular substrates for intensified cultivation
• Cross-collaborate with teams outside of Agronomy such as Genetics, Field Operations, Engineering, Machine Vision, and Quantification Modeling to help integrate collective outputs into our growing carbon sequestration platform
• Help set up and maintain our lab facilities; collaborate with and/or manage lab technicians via training, mentoring, and directing workflow
• Develop, implement, and improve upon protocols for routine culture development operations
• Keep informed on the state of the art of relevant research areas by conducting literature reviews, attending scientific conferences and workshops, etc.

You Are (or You Have):

• PhD or MS in biochemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, biological engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, microbiology, phycology, marine biology, molecular biology, cellular biology, genetics, plant breeding, aquaculture, or related field, and 3+years of relevant experience in an academic or industrial setting (research toward PhD/MS may be counted toward this amount); or BS in a related field with 6+ years of relevant experience in an academic or industrial setting
• Proficient in as many of the following areas as possible: Aseptic technique, macroalgal cell/tissue culture, micropropagation, clonal propagation, lifecycle manipulation, bioreactor/bioprocess design and intensification, cell culture decontamination, photosynthetic assays, cell viability assays, cell growth modeling, experimental design/execution/statistical analysis, microscopy, image analysis, and germplasm preservation
• Proven ability to draw knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines to solve unique, unprecedented problems
• Skilled at independent, creative, critical thinking and problem-solving; effective communication and teamwork skills
• Strong ability to multitask and prioritize
• Quickly adaptive to evolving objectives and workflow; able to implement and improve upon various established and novel strategies for algal cultivation and bioprocessing
• An excellent communicator and planner; extremely well organized and detail oriented
• Comfortable working in diverse lab-type settings such as containerized algal hatcheries or more traditional laboratories
• Genuine desire to positively impact global sustainability

Bonus Points:

• Experience clonally propagating macroscopic algal tissue cultures, e.g. plantlet culture, vegetative thalli fragmentation, callus induction/plantlet regeneration, somatic embryogenesis, parthenogenesis, etc.
• Experience clonally propagating microscopic gametophytes of macroscopic algae, e.g. isolation, sexing, decontamination, lifecycle manipulation, gametogenesis, sporophyte recruitment, seeding, etc.
• Experience with various established and novel macroalgal seeding and cultivation methods, e.g. suspension and immobilized cultures
• Experience with various cell viability and photosynthetic activity assays, e.g. PAM chlorophyl fluorometry, photosynthetic oxygen evolution assays, viability stains, etc.

Our teams operate with utmost persistence. We are tackling the world’s most difficult and important problems, and we are unwavering in our motivation to find a solution. At our core, we are innovators driven to do "more good" rather than "less bad" in the world.
Running Tide is committed to building a diverse team, bringing as many possible perspectives to bear on the unprecedented challenges facing our planet. We are committed to building an inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds  can come to do their best work.