Sr. Research Associate, Molecular Microbiology

Indigo is a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. With a vision of creating a world where farming is an economically desirable and accessible profession, Indigo works alongside its growers to apply natural approaches, conserve resources for future generations, and grow healthy food for all. Indigo’s Biological Products, Marketplace, and Carbon offerings improve grower profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health. Indigo Marketplace is a platform connecting growers with a network of buyers to secure optimal prices for their crops and offers hands-on control of a grower’s business through a range of pricing tools, real-time national bid discovery, and automated grain sales. Indigo Carbon, is a platform paying growers for increases in soil carbon content and decreases in greenhouse gas emissions. It helps growers realize additional revenue, healthier soils, and a more resilient farm by participation in a market of high-quality carbon credits – supported by rigorous quantification standards. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA, with additional offices in Memphis, TN, Research Triangle Park, NC, Basel, Switzerland, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and São Paulo, Brazil.

Indigo’s Biological Products organization develops products based upon our deep understanding of the plant microbiome. The company has commercialized such products for cotton, wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, and rice in North America, Latin America, and Europe under the biotrinsic™ brand. Our R&D and product development teams are working to continue to develop products that address the growing number of abiotic and biotic stresses that crops experience worldwide.

Indigo’s Microbial Sourcing and Evaluation team seeks a skilled Molecular Microbiologist, with experience in genetic manipulation of non-model microorganisms to improve strain performance. An ideal candidate for the Research Associate role would have broad experience in environmental microbiology and plant-microbe interactions, and be skilled in modern methods of genetic engineering of environmental microorganisms, including Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and/or filamentous fungi.

Responsibilities:

• Support the build-out of Indigo’s internal strain engineering platform
• Assist with genetic manipulation and pathway engineering in a range of soil- and plant-associated microorganisms, to improve or alter function
• Fluorescent-tagging of candidate strains to assess colonization and tissue localization
• When needed, research new genetic tools for target organisms
• Work with the scientific lead on experimental design, including in silico design of DNA constructs, cloning and mutagenesis strategies, and regulatory pathways to alter metabolic potential

Competencies:

• Documented success in engineering of non-model microorganisms;
• Hands-on experience with modern DNA cloning methods and bioinformatics tools for construct design;
• Excellent communication and team-work skills; able to communicate and work cross-functionally between teams including Bioinformatics, Microbial Sourcing, and Plant Physiological Analysis;
• Excellent data management and organizational skills;
• Creative and adaptable

Qualifications:

• MS degree Microbiology, Molecular Biology, or related field; or a BS degree with 3+ years of experience in an industry lab setting;
• Knowledge of metabolic pathway engineering, genetic regulation, microbial physiology; plant-microbe interactions
• A broad molecular biology toolkit, including next-gen sequencing and analysis, DNA synthesis and cloning, RT-PCR and other gene expression analyses, CRISPR gene editing, or similar
• Boston based, or willing to relocate

Indigo is committed to living our values, specifically “creating a work environment where everyone feels respected, connected, and has opportunities to learn and grow.” As part of living our values, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone feels they can be themselves and has an equal opportunity of succeeding.

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