Bactobio Microbial Genomics Scientist Bactobio is looking for a BGC scientist with experience in computational biology, genomics and natural products to join our growing team. The successful candidate will work cross-functionally across multiple teams from prioritizing microbes for screening, to predicting natural products encoded by BGCs and aiding in discovery of novel antimicrobials. They will be working closely with a team of bioinformaticians, microbiologists, analytical chemists and synthetic biologists to discover novel natural products from our growing diverse bacterial collection. This is an exceptional opportunity for scientists with a drive for problem solving and data mining to be a part of the antimicrobial discovery platform.
Job Title: Microbial Genomics Scientist
Location: Bactobio · London, England, United Kingdom (On-site)
Role
In this role, you will join our compound discovery team to analyse secondary metabolite-producing Biosynthetic Gene Clusters (BGCs) for identifying novel antimicrobials
Responsibilities
- Continuous optimisation and development of our bacterial BGC detection platform as well as summarizing and visualizing outputs from multiple BGC prediction tools
- Analyse BGCs to link metabolomics and genomics
- Collaborate with microbiologists and synthetic biologists to guide microbial screening and BGC expression
- Work closely with analytical chemists to detect and filter natural products based on strain activity and BGC information
- Contribute to maintaining our in-house LIMS system by working with bioinformaticians and machine-learning experts
- Disseminate data in an easily digestible format to collaborators as well as technical and non-technical stake-holders
Job Requirements
Should have:
- A PhD degree in computational biology, biotechnology, biochemistry or a related field
- 2+ years of relevant post-PhD experience, preferably in industry
- Experience with bacterial biosynthetic gene cluster analyses3+ years working in Python
- or R with knowledge of version control and branch management
It would be great if you have:
- Experience in working with downstream BGC pathway prediction and elucidation
Deep understanding of BGC prediction tools such as antiSMASH and deepBGC - 2+ years’ experience with relational databases (e.g. MySQL)
Mechanistic understanding of the bacterial secondary metabolite BGCs - Excellent communication skills for publishing data findings and conclusions within the company and to third-party collaborators
Facilities
Bactobio has over 300 sqm of laboratory space with high-end equipment spanning microbiology through to analytical chemistry. Within compound discovery, this includes a dedicated analytical chemistry suite with multiple LCMS and HPLC systems and an automation suite with bioreactors, a flow cytometer and liquid handling machines.
Benefits include
- Competitive starting salary £45,000 – £55,000 per year
The chance to be part of a fun multicultural group of kind and ambitious people that are impact driven - Brand new, modern labs in Central London with dedicated office space, large balconies and 360’ views of the London skyline
25 days holiday + bank holidays - Enhanced Sick Pay
- Flexible start and finish times within the company’s core hours to fit your preferences
- Diverse team of colleagues (check out our website to meet us)
Weekly team activities including board games, sports activities, and socials on Fridays - Complimentary snacks, fruits, tea, coffee, soft drinks,…
- Access to 1000s of training courses through Udemy, with an allowance for both personal development and work-related training
- Bike2Work scheme
Bactobio Microbial Genomics Scientist
