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Hiring a Scientist on Project basis : Fractional/Full time
The company is building at the intersection of food and biotechnology, and we're looking for an experienced hands-on scientist to embed with our team on fractional or full-time basis. We're looking for someone who's not just technically strong, but genuinely curious about where food and biotech intersect — someone who'd want to be close to this problem even outside a formal engagement.
What you'd be doing
- Writing and refining technical proposals
- Brainstorming on our technical approach and direction as we scope out early feasibility work
- Reviewing early data or experimental results and offering technical input
- Acting as a sounding board on key technical decisions as they come up
What we're looking for
- Hands-on experience in biotechnology — Molecular biology / Fermentation / Protein engineering / Plant biotechnology, or a related field
- Meaningful bench experience translating early science toward scale, ideally through a PhD/postdoc or industry R&D role
- Strong scientific writing skills — experience drafting proposals, or technical documents that communicate clearly
- Academic, industry, or consulting backgrounds are all welcome.
Note: This is a project-based engagement structured around agreed deliverables rather than fixed working hours. While the role offers flexibility, it requires a meaningful time commitment and active participation. We are looking for someone who is genuinely excited and willing to invest the time needed to contribute to technical discussions, prepare & write technical proposals and documentation, and deliver agreed outcomes. This is a hands-on technical role - not purely an advisory or consulting position. We value professionalism, ownership, reliability, and clear communication, and expect a high standard of work throughout the engagement.
For the right individual, this engagement also presents an opportunity to transition into a larger role on successful completion.
Core Skills
- Genetic engineering fundamentals: cloning, vector design, plasmid construction, codon optimization
- Gene expression analysis and optimization — getting a target gene to actually produce protein at meaningful levels
- Protein expression and characterization: Western blot, ELISA, mass spec, or equivalent methods to confirm what's being produced and how much
- Bioinformatics / sequence analysis: genome annotation, pathway mapping, identifying promoters/genetic parts
- Strong cost-of-goods thinking — understanding that "does it work" and "does it work cheaply and reproducibly at scale" are different problems
- Experience taking a project from bench-scale proof of concept toward scale-up (even if scale-up wasn't fully completed)
- Comfortable working with significant ambiguity and owning technical decisions without a large team around you
- Deep hands-on expertise in at least one of the following 2 platforms:
I. Industrial microbial chassis, bioreactor operation, media/feeding strategy:
- Bioreactor operation experience (batch, fed-batch, continuous fermentation)
- Media formulation and feeding strategy design
- Experience with industrial microbial chassis (E. coli, S. cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, Trichoderma, Aspergillus)
- CRISPR/Cas9 and other genome-editing tools for microbial strain engineering
- Downstream processing/purification from fermentation broth
OR
II. Plant transformation and transient expression, plant tissue culture, regulatory frameworks:
- Plant transformation techniques (Agrobacterium-mediated, particle bombardment)
- Plant tissue culture and regeneration
- Experience with transient expression systems (e.g., agroinfiltration)
- Familiarity with plant-specific regulatory/biosafety frameworks (GEAC in India)
- Extraction and purification from plant biomass/tissue
Logistics
- Location: Remote - time zone overlap with IST preferred
- Time commitment: Typically 10–15 hrs/week to start, scaling with project needs and mutual fit
- Compensation: Structured around agreed deliverables — happy to discuss budget/rate expectations early in the conversation
- To apply: Send your CV/portfolio and a short note on relevant experience to samridhi.aggarwal11@gmail.com with the subject: Application for Scientist - Project role
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