Bioenergy Process Scientist

IMPORTANT:  This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders.  Other applicants need not apply.

 

Working title:

BIOENERGY PROCESS SCIENTIST

Official title:

SENIOR SCIENTIST(E10BN) OR ASSOCIATE SCIENTIST(E10FN) OR ASSISTANT SCIENTIST(E10LN)

Degree and area of specialization:

PhD in Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, or related areas.

Minimum number of years and type of relevant work experience:

Minimum of three-five years experience in research in chemical, electrical, or biomedical engineering, microbial fermentation, microbial genomics, or microbial synthetic or systems biology. Experience in data acquisition using fermentation or chemical processing monitoring and sensors highly desirable. Written and oral presentation skills and excellent interpersonal skills are essential. Significant knowledge in use of electronic circuits, online sensors, data acquisition systems, and biological process engineering, knowledge of microbial science and fermentation, and familiarity with LabView software from National Instruments are highly desirable.

Principal duties:

The successful candidate will manage an Experimental Fermentation Facility (EFF) in the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). This will include supervision of research specialists in the EFF, troubleshooting research problems, designing research methods, and presenting results for scholarly publication. The EFF will conduct research on the characteristics of microbes engineered for conversion of biomass to biofuels. A particular emphasis will be on microbial conversion of lignocellulose to ethanol. The research will include (1) accurately measuring microbial cell growth parameters during ethanologenic fermentations; (2) working with other researchers in the center to collect organism-wide proteomic, metabolic, gene expression, and lipidomic profiles of bioenergy microbes; and (3) assembling and managing experimental platforms for microbial directed evolution experiments to identify new microbial strains with enhanced bioenergy characteristics. The GLBRC is one of three Department of Energy centers to conduct fundamental, genomics-based research on microbial and plant systems required to realize the national need for low-cost biofuels. This is an exceptional opportunity to play a key role in a keystone research center for the first great national challenge of the 21st century, sustainable energy independence. For additional information regarding the GLBRC, visit the website: www.glbrc.org.