Job title: Sr. Scientist - Strain Development
Req ID: 36097BR
Job category: Research & Technology
Sub-category: Research, Development & Technology
Countries (State/Region): United States - California
Location: San Diego
The BP Biofuels’ Global Technology Center, located in San Diego, California, is the central hub for BP’s Biofuel R&D activities. The lignocellulosic enzyme group is responsible for developing enzyme technologies for the production of low cost, high performance enzymes for biomass conversion.
We seek an experienced scientist with a deep understanding of molecular biology, metabolic engineering and fungal strain engineering to join our enzyme team and lead a strain construction group. The strain construction group will work in close collaboration with the enzymology and strain evaluation groups to develop and improve our enzyme production technologies. The strain evaluation team will also leverage ‘omics, analytical chemistry, bioinformatics, metabolic engineering and other core technologies at BP.
• Lead a research group with a mission to engineer new enzyme production strains. Utilize inputs and feedback and direction from strain evaluation and enzyme optimization teams to create improved strains.
• Develop and execute strategies to reduce enzyme production costs in collaboration with strain evaluation, enzyme optimization, analytical chemistry, ‘omics, bioinformatics and other groups to develop organisms and fermentation technologies.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for molecular biology and strain engineering. Responsible for developing and maintaining a deep scientific understanding of fungal enzyme production strains.
• Mentor and train junior scientist with hands on techniques and experimental approaches.
• Provide scientific innovation and technical leadership.
Key accountabilities • Develop strain engineering solutions for biofuels productions utilizing a wide range of molecular techniques.
• Thorough strain characterization in a diverse range of conditions.
• Fungal Strain characterization and optimization.
• Must be able to collaborate effectively with key scientific personnel to further improve a variety of biofuels platforms.
• Mentor and train junior scientist with hands on techniques and experimental approaches.
• Provide creativity and technical leadership.
Essential Education • Ph.D. degree in Microbiology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, or other relevant discipline.
Essential experience and job requirements Biofuels Capabilities:
• Value Creator: Focuses their energy on the actions that will add the greatest value to Biofuels, showing initiative, flexibility and resilience in doing so. Seeks to exceed expectations and look beyond the tried and tested to solve problems.
• People Developer: Works to achieve own and others’ potential. Balances the pressure to focus on short-term delivery with the longer-term need to develop the next generation of talent for the business.
• Great Partner: Builds strong and enduring relationships across and outside the business. Collaborates effectively at all levels, recognising the value of those with different expertise and from different backgrounds.
• Operational Expertise: Simplifies and clarifies situations and processes; delivers operational value through intelligent application of processes; strives for “silent running” operations.
Desirable criteria & qualifications • A minimum of 4 years of industrial research and development experience.
• The successful candidate will have demonstrated outstanding inter-disciplinary problem solving and scientific analytical skills, with a strong interest in the pursuit of scientific discovery.
• Deep understanding of cellular metabolism, gene expression and regulation, stress response mechanisms, carbon flux, and how this information can be applied to engineering microorganisms for chemical production.
• Familiarity with fermentation scaleup, cellulase enzymology, metabolic engineering, systems biology, and ‘omics technologies is desirable.
• Must be motivated, possess good interpersonal skills, communicate well within and between teams and be able to work to tight deadlines; Ability to prioritize responsibilities and multi-task effectively will be key.
• Direct line management experience and demonstrated ability to lead interdisciplinary groups and teams toward commercially successful outcomes.
• Commitment to safety in the job environment.
Relocation available Yes - Domestic (In country) only
Travel required Yes - up to 25%
Is this a part time position? No
About BP Our business is the exploration, production, refining, trading and distribution of energy. This is what we do, and we do it on a truly global scale. With a workforce of 80,000 employees, BP operates with business activities and customers in more than 80 countries across six continents. Every day, we serve millions of customers around the world. We are continually looking for talented, committed and ambitious people to help us shape the face of energy for the future.
At BP Alternative Energy we're investing in new ways of providing energy - from innovative new solar and wind businesses to advanced biofuels and clean energy technologies such as the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from traditional fossil fuels. These will provide customers with clean, secure energy - and they will shape the evolution of the global energy industry in the coming decades.
In Biofuels, our business in conventional products such as bio-ethanol is already substantial, accounting for about 10% of the world market. However, as well as providing today's biofuels, we're also developing tomorrow's. We are investing $500 million over 10 years in the Energy Biosciences Institute to explore options for advanced biofuels and other applications of biotechnology to energy.
Disclaimer If you are selected for the position, your employment will be contingent upon submission to and successful completion of a post-offer/pre-placement drug test (and alcohol screening if required by the role) as well as pre-placement verification of the information and qualifications provided during the selection process.
BP is an equal opportunity employer.