Job Description

About Benson Hill
Benson Hill empowers innovators to develop more healthy, tasty, and sustainable food by unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants. Benson Hill’s CropOS™ platform combines machine learning and big data with breeding techniques and plant biology to drastically accelerate and simplify the product development process. This platform allows for cost-effective and more efficient ways for companies to analyze and make improvements in plant genetics. Benson Hill brings a unique and holistic approach to our product and platform development, as we span a broader workflow involving trait and seed development, genome editing, and breeding all the way to creating better ingredients and varieties that tap a strong consumer demand for more flavorful and nutritious fruits and vegetables. More information can be found online at www.bensonhill.com. Follow us on Twitter at @BensonHillInc.

Our Purpose and Core Values

Our Core Values are a set of common principles we share that are fundamental to our company’s identity.

• Be Bold!We redefine boundaries by providing new solutions to difficult problems. Together we are driven to transform the future and will not allow the fear of failure to prevent us from innovating. We voice our opinions, embrace change, and challenge each other to think creatively.
• Be Inspired! We have purpose in our work-we are curious, engaged, and have fun. We maintain an active learning mindset and are motivated by diverse people and thoughts. We are energized by all innovators and together we aim to make an impact and contribute to building a better world.
• Be Real! We understand who we are, what we want to achieve, and what it takes to get there. We hold each other accountable through timely, candid, and well-intentioned feedback. Together we engage in honest communication and healthy debate that leads to success through true alignment.

Department Overview

The Trait Innovation Delivery & Execution (TIDE) team is responsible for new trait discovery and delivery of the R&D product pipeline from the inception of new product targets through testing of these products on farm in grower fields all in a massively compressed time to market.  We conduct a wide range of research activities, namely in the areas of new product concepts, trait discovery, crop transformation, molecular genotyping, and trait validation. These activities are aimed at developing new capabilities in crop research, and the outcome of which is leveraged to create new product development opportunities.  We are a diverse, energized, and highly experienced team of professionals with a proven track record of delivering novel outcomes that have transformed areas of the Ag Tech sector.  We are focused on designing for and delivering scientific and analytical products and insight geared around the commercial objectives with the greatest value and impact.  We collaborate across a broad spectrum of internal Technology and Commercial teams along with key 3rd party partnerships to design and deliver these outcomes. 

Position Summary

We are actively seeking a Gene Editing & Plant Transformation Scientist I to join our Gene Editing team to support our R&D innovation at Benson Hill. 

The Gene Editing and Plant Transformation Scientist I will be responsible for improving soybean transformation, generating gene edited events, and developing new CRISPR technologies. This Scientist I will bring technical knowledge of CRISPR molecular biology and plant transformation methods to the team. This individual will work closely with both the Discovery and Production team to design and execute research objectives. A key outcome of this work will be the development of new intellectual property. The candidate will be accountable for mentoring junior lab members in lab work, presenting results at department meetings, and developing scientific plans that achieve company goals. A successful candidate will be able to collaborate across R&D teams to deliver company objectives.

You will:

Responsibilities include:

• Soybean plant transformation
• CRISPR mode of action studies
• Design and execution of plant gene editing experiments
• Mentor junior lab members
• Optimize soy transformation and gene editing methods for improved efficiency
• Create technical reports, summaries, protocols, and data interpretation

Education

• PhD or Master’s preferred (Bachelor’s with 2 years’ experience also acceptable)
• Qualifications related to Plant Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Bioinformatics

Experience

• 1+ years’ experience in plant transformation
• 1+ years’ experience in plant gene editing
• Detailed knowledge of CRISPR molecular biology methods
• Experience in NGS library preparation and sequencing
• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively in cross-functional and multi-functional teams to achieve common goals

Software/skillset

• Proficient in MS Excel, Powerpoint, Sharepoint, and Smartsheet
• Understanding of bioinformatics and statistical tools
• Demonstrated excellence in analyzing, interpreting, and communicating ideas
• Demonstrated strong ability to work in a fast-paced and highly interactive workplace

Other

• Attention to detail, analytical skills, and collaborative nature
• Uses data to drive decision making and assess performance

Ability to focus and work across multiple teams

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