Company Description

Join us and make YOUR mark on the World!

Are you interested in joining some of the brightest talent in the world to strengthen the United States' security? Come join Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where our employees apply their expertise to create solutions for BIG ideas that make our world a better place.

We are committed to a diverse and equitable workforce with an inclusive culture that values and celebrates the diversity of our people, talents, ideas, experiences, and perspectives. This is essential to innovation and creativity for continued success of the Laboratory's mission.

Pay Range

$113,760 Annually

Job Description

NOTE: This is a two-year Postdoctoral appointment with the possibility of extension to a maximum of three years.

Job scope description:

We are seeking a dedicated and hardworking Postdoctoral Researcher to conduct research in the field of synthetic biology for biocontainment of genetically modified microorganisms. You will actively participate in research to develop biocontainment circuits in environmentally relevant bacteria and build and screen libraries for protein redesign. This position is in the systems and synthetic biology group in the Biosciences and Biotechnology Division.

In this role you will:

• Conduct fundamental research in microbial synthetic biology for environmental applications.
• Employ state of the art gene synthesis approaches to produce gene libraries.
• Develop high throughput approaches to assay the functionality of protein variants.
• Employ synthetic biology to implement biological circuits in environmentally relevant microorganisms and characterize efficacy in test beds of increasing complexity.
• Develop research plans, generate results, and publish peer-reviewed papers.
• Work with other scientists to write proposals and expand our program into new areas aligned with your expertise and interests.
• Write reports to funding agencies and participate in scientific conferences.
• Pursue independent (but complementary) research interests and interact with a broad spectrum of scientists internally and externally to the Laboratory.
• Publish research results in peer-reviewed scientific or technical journals and present results at external conferences, seminars, and/or technical meetings.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• PhD in Biological Sciences, Bioengineering, or a relevant field with a strong emphasis in synthetic biology and microbiology.
• Expertise and knowledge in bacterial genetics and physiology
• Experience in engineering bacterial strains for environmental function. This might include design, assembly, and modeling of genetic circuits.
• Experience with high throughput screening/selection methods
• Ability to develop independent research projects as demonstrated through publication of peer-reviewed literature.
• Proficient verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively in a multidisciplinary team environment and present and explain technical information.

Qualifications we desire:

• Experience with microbial evolution approaches (e.g., adaptive laboratory evolution)
• Experience with next-generation sequencing (NGS) execution and/or analysis
• Experience with in silico protein design/engineering and/or directed experimental evolution of proteins
• Experience with gene editing in non-model strains (non-E. coli systems).
• Experience with bacterial signaling systems (e.g., two component systems, quorum sensing systems)
• Experience in bioinformatics and/or proficiency in programming in one or more of the followinglanguages: Python, Julia,C, C++,R, Java, orMatlab

Additional Information

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Position Information

This is a Postdoctoral appointment with the possibility of extension to a maximum of three years, open to those who have been awarded a PhD at time of hire date.

Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?

• Included in 2024 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor!
• Flexible Benefits Package
• 401(k)
• Relocation Assistance
• Education Reimbursement Program
• Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)
• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) - visit https://www.llnl.gov/diversity
• Our core beliefs - visit https://www.llnl.gov/diversity/our-values
• Employee engagement - visit https://www.llnl.gov/diversity/employee-engagement

Security Clearance

None required.However, if your assignment is longer than 179 days cumulatively within a calendar year, you must go through the Personal Identity Verification process. This process includes completing an online background investigation form and receiving approval of the background check. (This process does not apply to foreign nationals.)

Pre-Employment Drug Test

External applicant(s) selected for this position must pass a post-offer, pre-employment drug test. This includes testing for use of marijuana as Federal Law applies to us as a Federal Contractor.

How to identify fake job advertisements

Please be aware of recruitment scams where people or entities are misusing the name of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to post fake job advertisements. LLNL never extends an offer without a personal interview and will never charge a fee for joining our company. All current job openings are displayed on the Career Page under "Find Your Job" of our website. If you have encountered a job posting or have been approached with a job offer that you suspect may be fraudulent, we strongly recommend you do not respond.

To learn more about recruitment scams: https://www.llnl.gov/sites/www/files/2023-05/LLNL-Job-Fraud-Statement-Updated-4.26.23.pdf

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer that is committed to providing all with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, protected veteran status, age, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

We invite you to review the Equal Employment Opportunity posters which include EEO is the Law and Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision .

Reasonable Accommodation

Our goal is to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates applying and interviewing at the Laboratory. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please use our online form to submit a request.

CaliforniaPrivacy Notice

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants privacy rights to all California residents. The law also entitlesjob applicants, employees, and non-employee workers to be notified of what personal information LLNL collects and for what purpose. The Employee Privacy Notice can be accessed here .