Responsibilities

• Provide technical direction and guidance on synthetic biology, metabolic design and metabolic engineering of target host organisms to your team to ensure project success
• Analyze host organism physiology to identify bottlenecks limiting organism performance and re-design organisms to alleviate bottlenecks and improve performance 
• Collaborate with customers and internal process development teams to establish commercial-scale processes based upon novel strains developed by your team
• Lead efforts to identify and develop novel technology around adapting new host organisms and new genetic tools to foundry operations 
• Measure and evaluate team performance with respect to the technical success of team projects, as well as the continued development of high-performing teams
• Manage projects plans and team resources across your team and communicate project and team performance to Ginkgo leadership and external customers
• Mentor and coach Codebase teammates on metabolic engineering strategies and techniques
• Assist Commercial Operations in evaluating new project opportunities from a technical perspective as well as proposing work plans, budgets and timelines. Also, provide customer updates on metabolic engineering progress and communicate Ginkgo’s unique offerings to current and potential customers
• Assist with shaping Ginkgo’s overall direction as a company and support its evolving needs, as necessary

Desired Experience and Capabilities

• PhD in microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, chemical or biological engineering or related field
• At least 14 years of industrial research experience engineering microbial metabolism or developing novel synthetic biology tools in multiple microorganisms selected from yeasts, bacteria or filamentous fungi. Relevant academic experience will also be considered
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to oversee multiple simultaneous projects, meet deadlines, and collaborate with cross-functional teams
• Proven track record of leading successful teams while mentoring, advising and managing multiple team members
• Superb communication skills, with the ability to effectively convey project plans and complex technical details to a wide range of internal teams, executive leadership, and external customers
• Enthusiasm for being a part of Ginkgo’s mission