Plant Synthetic Biologist

Oxman

OXMAN is a hybrid Design and R&D company that fuses design, technology, and biology to invent multi-scale products and environments. We reject the human-centric design paradigms that have divorced us from Nature, and instead pursue a Nature-centric approach—delivering solutions by, for, and with the natural world. We design across scales for systems-level impact, treating every construct as a whole system of complex interrelations rather than an isolated object.

Role Overview

OXMAN is seeking a Plant Synthetic Biologist to join an interdisciplinary team of scientists, fabricators, and designers.

Successful applicants embody stellar technical skills, hold the capacity to navigate and resolve uncertainty, and demonstrate a strong capacity for outside-the-box problem solving.

They have demonstrated work rooted in sound scientific reasoning and process-driven design; exemplify a passion for systems-based thinking with a wide range of potential applications for their work; personify an appreciation for engineering, science, and art; and seek synergy between biology, technology, and the environment in research and direct industrial utility.

The Plant Synthetic Biologist will play a key role in designing and implementing novel projects and applications of synthetic biology principles to a variety of biological and bio-inspired systems—from protoplasts and tissue cultures to whole organisms and biotic-abiotic hybrid systems. This work will advance a future of unification between synthetic biology and design, wherein the result could be a proof-of-concept product/process, art objects, or novel tools and techniques.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead plant biology projects across all stages, from concept development to product fruition
• Design and execute experiments that develop, validate, and/or enable novel products/processes that fundamentally leverage synthetic biology
• Maintain high-quality documentation of scientific output and research in the forms of written reports, electronic lab notebooks, internal databases, code comments, etc.
• Nurture and augment the scientific vision of OXMAN, upholding core design principles and ensuring the highest and most innovative quality of work
• Actively partner with a multidisciplinary team of professionals, including other biologists, engineers, and designers, across scientific and design pursuits
• Communicate ideas, work, and progress clearly, including by engaging in team meetings, presentations, and other creative communication outlets
• Required Experience
• PhD or equivalent, with a focus on bioengineering/synthetic biology and its applications in the plant kingdom.
• Minimum 3 years of industry or academic experience in plant biology research, genetic engineering, and/or application R&D for synthetic biology systems.
• Portfolio of highly successful scientific or engineering work demonstrating out-of-the-box thinking and stellar taste
• Fluency in the use of relevant synthetic biology tools, including physical equipment and methods used for plant growth, tissue culture, and regeneration, sequence design software, transformation and cloning, etc.
• Essential Qualities
• Ability to thrive in a self-directed environment
• Excellent project management skills, organizational skills, and attention to detail
• Strong commitment to the team; maintains positive working relationships with diverse people, including internal team and external partners
• Embodies ethics and integrity in all work with impeccable scientific integrity, respecting both company and broader community policies in all conduct