Scientist/Senior Scientist, Assay Development and High-Throughput Screening

Birch Biosciences is a startup company based in Portland, Oregon that engineers enzymes for plastic recycling. Engineered enzymes act as “molecular scissors” to break down plastic polymers in a high yield, circular process that enables manufacture of high quality, 100% recycled plastic products. Our bio-enzymatic recycling process is low cost, high yield, and reduces CO2 emissions by > 50%. Plastic demand is expected to triple by 2050, so our plastic problem is only going to get worse unless we do something about it.

We’re looking for an Assay Development and High-Throughput Screening Scientist to help us build and operate novel protein engineering technology that enables iterative development of high performance enzymes.

Specific job responsibilities include:

• Develop high-throughput reporter assays to quantify enzyme-mediated plastic depolymerization rates
• Develop single cell microencapsulation strategies to enable high-throughput genotype screening
• Perform fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and related techniques to delineate populations of proteins with improved functional properties
• Perform diagnostic protein expression and biochemical characterization assays

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering, Biochemistry, Biology, or a related field
• M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Bioengineering or a related field
• 5+ years of relevant laboratory experience
• Experience with HPLC and related analytical assays to characterize proteins of interest

We're also looking for candidates with the following characteristics

• Excellent attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills
• Passion for solving hard technical problems

We’re committed to creating opportunities for applicants from diverse backgrounds that can contribute to our mission. If you don’t have all of the pre-requisite skills, experience or degrees, please send us an application—we’d love to evaluate your skills and see if there is an opportunity for us to work together!